fry.  ■■■  ■•iqN«sTORY«>^NATioN$'!i^ 


Division 

Section 


P345^ 

.LZ6 


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Stories  of  the  Nations 

A Series  of  Historical  Studies  intended  to  present  in 
graphic  narratives  the  stories  of  the  different 
nations  that  have  attained  prominence  in  history. 

In  the  story  form  the  current  of  each  national 
life  is  distinctly  indicated,  and  its  picturesque  and 
noteworthy  periods  and  episodes  are  presented  for 
the  reader  in  their  philosophical  relations  to  each 
other  as  well  as  to  xmiversal  history. 


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MEDI/tVAL  INDIA 

UNDER 

MOHAMMEDAN  RULE 


FOUR  EMPERORS:  BABAR,  HUMAYUN,  AKBAR,  AND  JAHANGIR. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  NATIONS 


MEDl/EVAL  INDIA 

UNDER 

MOHAMMEDAN  RULE 

712-1764 


STANLEY  LANE-POOLE 

M.A,  LITT.D.,  M.R.I.A. 

PROFESSOR  OF  ARABIC  AT  TRINITY  COLLEGE,  DUBLIN 


NEW  YORK 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 

LONDON:  T.  FISHER  UNWIN 


CoP^TilGHT,  igo3 

BV 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 
Entered  at  Stationer’s  Hall,  London 

BY 

T.  FISHER  UNWIN 
Published,  Februarj-,  1903 


Zbc  'knicficrbocfecr  press,  Hew  Horft 


PREFACE 


HE  Mediseval  Period  of  Indian  history,  though 


it  does  not  exactly  correspond  with  the  Middle 
Age  of  Europe,  is  not  less  clearly  defined.  It  begins 
when  the  immemorial  systems,  rule,  and  customs  of 
Ancient  India  were  invaded,  subdued,  and  modified 
by  a succession  of  foreign  conquerors  who  imposed 
a new  rule  and  introduced  an  exotic  creed,  strange 
languages  and  a foreign  art.  These  conquerors  were 
Muslims,  and  with  the  arrival  of  the  Turks  under 
Mahmud  the  Iconoclast  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century,  India  entered  upon  her  Middle 
Age.  From  that  epoch  for  nearly  eight  hundred 
years  her  history  is  grouped  round  the  Moham- 
medan rulers  who  gradually  brought  under  their 
control  nearly  the  whole  country  from  the  Hima- 
layas to  the  Krishna  river.  The  Period  ends  when 
one  of  the  last  of  these  rulers,  oppressed  by  the 
revival  of  Hindu  ascendency,  placed  himself  under 
English  protection,  and  Modern  India  came  into 


Distinct  and  clearly  marked  as  the  Mediaeval  or 
Mohammedan  Period  is,  the  transition  implies  no 
violent  change.  History  is  always  continuous  ; there 


being. 


Ill 


IV 


PREFA CE 


can  be  no  ‘ fresh  start  ’ ; and  each  new  period  carries 
on  much  of  what  preceded  it.  In  India,  as  ever  in 
the  East,  change  is  so  gradual  as  to  be  almost  im- 
perceptible. Ancient  India  was  too  deeply  rooted 
in  its  traditions  to  wither  even  under  the  storm  of 
Muslim  conquest.  The  old  Indian  life  survived  the 
shock  of  the  new  ideas,  which  it  modified  at  least  as 
much  as  it  was  modified  ; it  outlived  the  Muslim 
Period,  and  still  endures,  but  little  altered,  in  the 
Modern  Age  of  English  domination.  It  never 
really  assimilated  the  foreigners  or  their  ideas. 
Despite  the  efforts  of  a few  wide-seeing  men  like 
Akbar,  no  true  or  permanent  union,  except  occa- 
sionally among  the  official  and  ruling  classes,  ever 
took  place  between  the  Muslims  and  the  Hindus; 
and  the  ascendant  races,  whether  Turks,  Persians, 
Afghans,  or  Moghuls,  remained  essentially  an  army 
of  occupation  among  a hostile  or  at  least  repellent 
population. 

The  history  of  the  Mohammedan  Period  is  there- 
fore necessarily  more  a chronicle  of  kings  and  courts 
and  conquests  than  of  organic  or  national  growth. 
The  vast  mass  of  the  people  enjoy  the  doubtful 
happiness  of  having  no  history,  since  they  show  no 
development ; apparently  they  are  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  forever.  Nor  was  there  any  such 
marked  change  even  in  the  principles  and  methods 
of  government  as  might  be  expected  from  the 
diversity  of  successive  rulers  of  various  races. 
English  Collector-Magistrates  follow  much  the  same 
system,  in  essential  outline,  as  that  which  Akbar 
adopted  from  his  Hindu  Chancellor,  and  many 


PREFA  CE 


V 


executive  details  and  most  of  the  principles  of  local 
administration  have  their  origin  in  probably  prehis- 
toric custom.  But  in  the  character  and  life  of  the 
rulers  there  is  infinite  variety,  and  it  is  round  the 
lives  of  great  men  — and  a few  great  women,  though 
such  seldom  emerge  before  the  public  gaze  in  the 
East  — that  the  chief  interest  of  the  Mediaeval 
Period  centres.  A history  of  ‘ the  people  ’ is  usually 
assumed,  in  the  present  day,  to  be  more  stimulating 
and  instructive  than  the  record  of  kings  and  courts ; 
but  even  if  true,  this  can  only  be  understood  of 
Western  peoples,  of  peoples  who  .strive  to  go  for- 
ward— or  at  least  change.  In  the  Ea.st  the  people 
does  not  change,  and  there,  far  more  than  among 
progressive  races,  the  ‘ simple  annals  of  the  poor,’ 
however  moving  and  pathetic,  are  indescribably  trite 
and  monotonous  compared  with  the  lives  of  those 
more  fortunate  to  whom  much  has  been  given  in 
opportunity,  wealth,  power,  and  knowledge.  Such 
contrasted  characters  as  those  of  Ala-ad-din,  Mo- 
hammad Taghlak,  Babar,  Akbar,  and  Aurangzib  — 
it  is  a pity  their  names  are  so  outlandish  — may  rival 
any  portrait  gallery  that  could  be  collected  in  Europe 
in  the  same  four  centuries;  and  in  the  lives  and 
policies,  the  wars  and  studies,  the  habits  and  cere- 
monies of  such  leaders  the  imagination  finds  ample 
scope  for  the  realization  of  strangely  vivid  and  dra- 
matic situations. 

To  realize  Mediaeval  India  there  is  no  better  way 
than  to  dive  into  the  eight  volumes  of  the  price- 
less ‘ History  of  India  as  told  by  its  own  Histo- 
rians ’ which  Sir  H.  M.  Elliot  conceived  and  began 


VI 


PREFACE 


and  which  Professor  Dowson  edited  and  completed 
with  infinite  labour  and  learning.  It  is  a revelation 
of  Indian  life  as  seen  through  the  eyes  of  the 
Persian  court  annalists.  It  is,  however,  a mine  to 
be  worked,  not  a consecutive  history,  and  its  wide 
leaps  in  chronology,  its  repetitions,  recurrences, 
and  omissions,  render  it  no  easy  guide  for  general 
readers.  As  a source  it  is  invaluable,  and  the 
present  book  owes  an  immense  debt  to  it ; indeed, 
no  modern  historian  of  India  can  afford  to  neglect 
it.  The  well-known  and  remarkably  accurate  and 
judicious  ‘ History  ’ by  Elphinstone  of  course  had 
not  the  advantage  of  the  numerous  materials 
brought  together  by  Elliot  and  Dowson  ; but  El- 
phinstone had  good  authorities  and  used  them  with 
discrimination,  and  one  still  turns  to  him  with 
profit.  Another  modern  work  of  the  highest  au- 
thority, full  of  ripe  I'earning,  fine  judgment,  and 
nervous  English,  is  Erskine’s  ‘ History  of  India 
under  Babar  and  Humayun’:  it  is*  no  light  loss 
that  the  author’s  death  cut  short  a work  planned 
on  such  noble  lines.  Among  recent  books  I have 
found  my  friend  Mr.  H.  G.  Keene’s  ‘ Sketch  of 
the  History  of  Hindustan,’  and  his  other  volumes, 
the  most  suggestive ; Thomas’s  ‘ Chronicles  of  the 
Pathan  Kings,’  the  ‘ Memoirs  of  the  Archseological 
Survey  of  India,’  Professor  Blochmann  and  Colonel 
H.  S.  Jarrett’s  notes  to  their  translation  of  the 
‘ Ain-i-Akbari  ’ of  Abu-1-Fazl,  Mr.  Sewell’s  ‘ Vijay- 
anagar,’  and  Mr.  E.  Denison  Ross’s  translation  of 
Haidar’s  ‘ Tarikh-i-Rashidi,’  have  naturally  been  of 
great  service;  but  to  enumerate  the  works  that 


PREFACE 


Vll 


must  be  consulted  by  an  historian  of  India  would 
be  almost  to  publish  a catalogue  of  an  Indian 
library.  For  the  chapters  on  the  emperors  Babar 
and  Aurangzib  I have  naturally  drawn  largely  from 
my  own  two  volumes  in  the  ‘Rulers  of  India’ 
series,  with  the  permission  of  the  Delegates  of  the 
Oxford  University  Press ; and  I have  also  been 
allowed  to  reprint  from  the  ‘ Quarterly  Review  ’ 
some  pages  on  mediaeval  travellers  at  the  court  of 
the  Great  Moghul.  My  thanks  are  also  due  to  my 
friend  Mr.  Arthur  Ransom  for  his  kind  assistance 
in  certain  details. 

In  the  matter  of  the  orthography  of  Indian  names 
I have  attempted  a compromise.  Nothing  can 
make  these  names  familiar  or  pronounceable  to  the 
average  reader,  and  the  more  they  are  adorned 
with  accents  and  diacritical  dots  the  less  beautiful 
they  appear.  I have  therefore  left  the  names  as 
plain  and  simple  as  possible.  The  reader  should 
remember  that  the  vowels  are  to  be  pronounced  as 
in  Italian,  not  as  in  English,  and  that  short  a in 
Indian  names  is  sounded  obscurely  (as  in  «bout). 

The  Chronological  Tables  at  the  end  of  the  vol- 
ume will  supply  what  is  omitted  in  a necessarily 
concise  narrative,  where  general  outline  is  more 
important  than  dynastic  or  genealogical  details. 

Stanley  Lane-Pooi*:. 

Note. — As  the  reader  may  wish  to  consult  the  works  of  European 
travellers  in  India,  to  whom  frequent  reference  is  made  in  the  later 
chapters  of  this  history,  the  following  list  of  the  best  English  editions 
will  be  useful  : 

1608-1611.  The  Voyage  of  Francois  Pyrard  of  Laval  to  the  East 


VIll 


PREFACE 


hidies,  etc.  Translated  and  edited  by  Albert  Gray,  assisted  by  H. 
C.  P.  Bell,  Ceylon  C.S.  Two  vols.  in  three.  Hakluyt  Society, 
18S7-1890. 

1608-1613.  Captain  William  Hawkins,  his  Relations  of  the  Oc- 
currents  which  happened  in  the  time  of  his  residence  in  India,  in  the 
county  [sic]  of  the  Great  Mogoll,  etc.  The  Hawkins’  Voyages, 
edited  by  Clements  R.  Markham.  Hakluyt  Society.  1878. 

1615-1618.  The  Embassy  of  Sir  Thomas  Roe  to  the  Court  of  the 
Great  Moglml.  Edited  by  W.  H.  Foster,  2 vols.  Hakluyt  Society, 
1899. 

1615-1618.  A Voyage  to  the  East  Indies.  By  the  Rev.  Edward 
Terry.  London,  1655. 

1623-1624.  The  Travels  of  Pietro  della  Valle  in  India,  from  the 
old  English  translation  of  G.  Havers.  Edited  by  Edward  Grey,  late 
Beng.  C.S.  2 vols.  Hakluyt  Society.  1892. 

1626.  A relation  of  some  yeares  travaile  begun ne  anno  1626.  By 
T.  H.  Esquier  (Thomas  Herbert).  London,  1634. 

1638-1639.  The  Voyages  and  Travels  of  f.  Albert  de  Mandelslo. 
Rendered  into  English  by  John  Davies  of  Kidwelly.  London,  1662. 

1640-1667.  Travels  in  India  by  fean  Baptiste  Taventier , Baron 
of  Aubotine.  Translated,  etc.,  by  V.  Ball,  LL.D.,  F.R  S.,  F.G.S. 
2 vols.  London,  1889. 

1666-1667.  The  Travels  of  M.  de  Thevenot.  Translated  into 
English  by  A.  Lovell.  London,  1687. 

1659-1667.  Travels  in  the  Mogul  Empire  by  Francois  Bernier, 
M.D. , of  the  Faculty  of  Alontpellier.  A revised  and  improved  edition 
by  Archibald  Constable.  London,  1891. 

1673-1681.  A New  Account  of  India  and  Persia  in  Eight  Letters. 
By  John  Fryer,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  London,  1698. 

1682-1684.  The  Diary  of  William  Hedges.  Edited  by  Sir  H. 
Yule,  K.C.B.  3 vols.  Hakluyt  Society.  1887-1888. 

1689-1692.  A Voyage  to  Suratt  in  the  Year  iGSg.  By  J.  Oving- 
ton,  M.A.,  Chaplain  to  His  Majesty.  London,  1696. 

1695.  A Voyage  round  the  World  by  Dr.  yohn  Francis  Gemelli 
Careri.  Translated  into  English.  (Churchill’s  Collection  of  Voyages 
and  Travels,  vol.  iv.  1745.) 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  I 

THE  INVASIONS,  712-1206 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

1.  INTRODUCTION THE  ARABS  IN  SIND,  7 12  . 3 

II.  THE  IDOL-BREAKERS MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI, 

997-1030 14 

III.  THE  MEN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN GHAZNI  AND 

GHOR,  1030-1206  .....  34 


BOOK  II 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  DELHI,  1206-1526 


IV.  THE  SLAVE  KINGS THE  TURKS  IN  DELHI, 

1206-1290  ......  59 

V.  FIRST  DECCAN  CONQUESTS  ALA -AD -DIN 

KHALJI,  I29O-1321  .....  89 

VI.  A MAN  OF  IDEAS MOHAMMAD  TAGHLAK, 

1321-1388  ......  I2I 

VII.  DISINTEGRATION  PROVINCIAL  DYNASTIES, 

1388-1451 152 


IX 


X 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  III 

THE  MOGHUL  EMPIRE,  1526-1764 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.  THE  COMING  OF  THE  MOGHULS — THE  EM- 
PEROR BABAR,  1451-1530  . . . 189 

IX.  THE  EBB  OF  THE  TIDE — HUMAYUN,  1530-1556  2l8 

X.  THE  UNITED  EMPIRE AKBAR,  1556-1605  . 238 

XI.  AKBAR’s  REFORMS — THE  DIVINE  FAITH,  1566- 

1605 259 

XII.  THE  GREAT  MOGHUL — AND  EUROPEAN  TRAV- 

ELLERS, 1605-1627  .....  289 

XIII.  SHAH-JAHAN THE  MAGNIFICENT,  1628-I  658  327 

XIV.  THE  PURITAN  EMPEROR — AURANGZIB,  1659- 

1680 359 

XV.  THE  RUIN  OF  AURANGZIB THE  MARATHA 

WAR,  1680-1707  .....  383 

XVI.  THE  FALL  OF  THE  MOGHUL  EMPIRE THE 

HINDU  REVIVAL,  1707-1765  . . . 4IO 

MOHAMMEDAN  DYNASTIES  ....  425 


INDEX 


435 


CHRONOLOGICAL  SUMMARY 


A.D. 

712  The  Arabs  conquer  Sind. 

1000-26  Mahmud  of  Cihazni’s  campaigns  in  India. 

1030  The  Panjab  remains  the  sole  Muslim  province  in  India. 
1034  Mas'ud  storms  Ilansi. 

1155  Destruction  of  Ghazni  by  Jahansoz. 

1186  Mohammad  Ghori  conquers  Panjab. 

1192  He  defeats  Rajputs  at  Narain. 

1194  Conquest  of  Benares. 

1196  Aybek  annexes  Gujarat. 

1201  Bakhtiyar  conquers  Bengal. 

1221  Invasion  of  Chingiz  Kaan. 

1234  All  Hindustan  submits  to  Altamish. 

1241  The  Mongols  again  invade  Panjab. 

1282  Balban  recovers  Bengal  from  rebels. 

1294  Ala-ad-din  invades  the  Deccan. 

1297  Battle  of  Kill : retreat  of  Mongols. 

1303  Conquest  of  Chitor. 

1308-10  Deccan  conquests  (Telingana,  Dvara-samudra). 

1336  Mohammad  Taghlak  transfers  capital  to  Deccan. 

1347  Deccan  independent  under  Hasan  Gangu  Bahmani. 
1352  Bengal  united  and  independent  under  Ilyas. 

1355  fl.  Public  works,  canals,  etc.,  of  Firoz  Shah. 

1370  Conquest  of  Thatta  by  Firoz  Shah. 

1370  Foundation  of  kingdom  of  Khandesh. 

1394  Sharki  kingdom  of  faunpur  founded. 

1396  Kingdom  of  Gujarat  founded. 

1398  Invasion  of  Timur. 

1401  Kingdom  of  Mahva  founded. 


XI 


XU 


CHR  ONOL  0 GICA  L S UMM A R V 


A.D. 

1435  ff.  King  of  Malwa  takes  Kalpi  and  besieges  Delhi. 

1440  Malwa  defeated  by  Kumbho,  raja  of  Chitor. 

1452  King  of  Jaunpur  lays  siege  to  Delhi. 

1477  Bahlol  of  Delhi  conquers  Jaunpur. 

1477-81  Bahmani  conquests  in  Deccan. 

1484-92  Foundation  of  Deccan  kingdoms  of  Berar,  Bijapur,  Ahmad- 
nagar,  and  Bidar. 

1498  Vasco  da  Gama  lands  at  Calicut. 

1 508  Egyptian  naval  victory  over  Portugue.se  at  Chaul. 

1509  Almeida  defeats  Egyptian  fleet  off  Diu. 

1512  Kingdom  of  Golkonda  founded. 

1513  Portuguese  factory  established  at  Diu. 

1524  Babar  overruns  Punjab. 

1526  Battle  of  Panipat  : Babar  annexes  Delhi. 

1527  Battle  of  Kanwaha  : Babar  defeats  Rajputs. 

1528  Battle  of  the  Ganges  ; Babar  defeats  Afghans. 

1529  Battle  of  the  Gogra  ; Babar  defeats  Bengalis. 

1531-  Humayun  defeats  Afghans  near  Lucknow. 

i535“6  Humayun  conquers  and  loses  Malwa  and  Gujarat. 

1538  Humayun  in  Bengal. 

1539  Sher  Shah  defeats  Humayun  at  Chaunsa. 

1540  Battle  of  Kanauj  : flight  of  Humayun. 

1555  Battle  of  Sirhind  : Humayun  recovers  Delhi. 

1556  Battle  of  Panipat  : Akbar  king  of  Delhi. 

1560-2  Jaunpur,  Malwa,  Burhanpur  annexed. 

1567  Akbar  storms  Chitor. 

1569  Foundation  of  Fathpur-Sikri. 

1572-3  Gujarat  annexed. 

1574  d he  Hall  of  Worship  built  at  Fathpur-Sikri. 

1575  Conquest  of  Bengal. 

1582  Todar  Mai  makes  new  assessment  of  lands. 

1587  Kashmir,  1592  Sind,  1594  Kandahar  annexed. 

1599  Conquest  of  Ahmadnagar  in  Deccan. 

1600  Conquest  of  Asir  in  Khandesh. 

1600  Incorporation  of  first  East  India  Company. 

1605  Death  of  .\kbar. 

i6oq-ii  Hawkins  at  court  of  Jahangir:  English  factory  at  Surat. 
1615-18  Sir  Thomas  Roe’s  embassy  to  Jahangir. 

1616  Shah-Jahan’s  campaign  in  Deccan. 

1622  Kandahar  taken  by  Persia,  recovered  1637,  lost  again  1648. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  SUMMARY 


xiii 


A.D. 

1623  Pietro  della  Valle  in  India. 

1624  Rebellion  of  Shah-Jahan  against  Jahgairn  and  Nur-Jahan. 

1627  Death  of  Jahangir. 

1631  Suppression  of  Portuguese  at  Hugh. 

1635  Shah-Jahan  reduces  Bijapur  to  tributary  dependence. 

1638  Mandelslo  at  Agra. 

1640  Manrique  in  India. 

1646  Death  of  Nur-Jahan. 

1648  Completion  of  the  Taj-Mahall  at  Agra. 

1648  New  Delhi,  Shahjahanabad,  built. 

1648  Sivaji  raids  the  Konkan. 

1649-52  Aurangzib  fails  to  recover  Kandahar  from  Persians. 

1655  Aurangzib  viceroy  in  the  Deccan. 

1656  Golkonda  attacked,  Bidar  and  Kulbarga  annexed. 

1658  War  of  succession  : battle  of  Samugarh. 

1659  Accession  of  Aurangzib  : death  of  Shah-Jahan,  1666. 
1659-66  Bernier  at  the  court  of  Aurangzib. 

1665  Tavernier  in  India. 

1666  Suppression  of  Portuguese  pirates  in  Arakan. 

1671  Sivaji  sacks  Surat:  Marathas  supreme  in  Deccan. 

1672  Satnami  rebellion  in  Mewat. 

1676  Reimposition  of  jizya,  poll-tax. 

1680  War  with  Rajputs. 

1681  Aurangzib  takes  command  against  Marathas. 

1686  h'all  of  Bijapur,  and  1687  of  Golkonda. 

1695  Gemelli  Careri  at  Aurangzib’s  camp  in  Deccan. 

1707  Death  of  Aurangzib. 

1708  Revolt  of  the  Sikhs. 

1738  The  Marathas  advance  to  Delhi. 

1739  Nadir  Shah  sacks  Delhi. 

1748  Afghan  invasion  under  Ahmad  Shah  routed  at  Sirhind. 

1756  Ahmad  Shah  sacks  Delhi. 

1757  Battle  of  Plassey  : Clive  defeats  Nawab. 

1761  Battle  of  Panipat  : defeat  of  Marathas. 

1764  Battle  of  Buxar  : the  Great  Moghul  becomes  a pensioner  of 
the  East  India  Company. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FOUR  EMPERORS  : BABAR,  HUMAYUN,  AKBAR,  AND 
JAHANGIR  . . . . Frontispiece 

GOLD  COIN  OF  MAHMUD,  STRUCK  AT  NAISABUR  IN 
KHURASAN,  A.H.  402  (a.D.  IOII— I2) 

INDIAN  BILLON  CURRENCY  OF  MAHMUD,  STRUCK  AT 
MAHMUDPUR,  A.H.  418  (a.D.  IO27) 

COIN  OF  GHIYAS- AD-DIN,  SHOWING  SPEARMAN  ON 
ELEPHANT  

FORT  OF  AJMIR 

SILVER  COIN  OF  MOHAMMAD  GHORI,  STRUCK  AT 
GHAZNI,  A.H.  596  (a  d.  II99) 

BILLON  COIN  OF  YILDIZ,  SHOWING  CHOHAN  HORSE- 
MAN . ....... 

THE  KUTB  MINAR  AT  DELHI 

THE  GREAT  MOSQUE  OF  AJMIR,  WITH  INSCRIPTION 
OF  ALTAMISH  ....... 

SILVER  COIN  OF  ALTAMISH 

TOMB  OF  ALTAMISH  AT  DELHI  .... 

SILVER  COIN  OF  QUEEN  RAZIYA,  STRUCK  AT  LAKH- 
NAUTI 

GOLD  COIN  OF  BALBAN,  STRUCK  AT  DELHI,  A.H. 
672  (a.D.  1273-4)  


PAGE 


18 

27 

48 

52 

55 

65 

67 

69 

73 

75 

77 


XV 


83 


XVI 


ILLUSTRA  TIONS 


PAGE 

GOLD  COIN  OF  ALA-AD-DIN,  STRUCK  AT  DELHI,  A.H. 

698  (a.d.  1298-9)  ......  95 

THE  GATEWAY  OF  ALA-AD-DIN  IN  THE  MOSQUE  AT 

DELHI  . . . . . . . .110 

FORT  OF  TAGHLAKABAD,  AT  DELHI,  ENCLOSING 

TOMB  OF  TAGHLAK  SHAK  ....  I23 

GOLD  COIN  OF  MOHAMMAD  TAGHLAK,  STRUCK  AT 

DELHI,  A.H.  726  (a.d.  I326)  ....  I28 

BRASS  MONEY  OF  MOHAMMAD  TAGHLAK,  STRUCK  AT 

DELHI,  A.H.  731  (a.d.  133O-31)  . . .134 

TOMB  OF  FIROZ  SHAH  AT  DELHI  . . . .145 

GOLD  COIN  OF  FIROZ  SHAH,  A.H.  788  (a.D.  1386)  . 150 

GOLDEN  MOSQUE  AT  GAUR  .....  165 

MINAR  OF  FIROZ  II.  AT  GAUR  (1488)  . . . 167 

FORT  OF  JAUNPUR,  EAST  GATE  ....  168 

ATALA  DEVI  MOSQUE,  AT  JAUNPUR  . . . I70 

TOWER  OF  VICTORY  AT  CHITOR  . . . .173 

GOLD  COIN  OF  GHIYAS  SHAH  OF  MALWA,  A.H.  880 

(a.d.  1475-6) 175 

GOLD  COIN  OF  MAHMUD  SHAH  OF  GUJARAT,  A.H. 

946  (a.d.  1539-40) 178 

GOLD  COIN  OF  FIROZ,  STRUCK  AT  AHSANABAD,  A.H. 

807  (a.d.  1404-5)  ......  182 

THE  EMPEROR  BABAR  ......  195 

‘ MALIK-I-MAIDAM  ’ I GIGANTIC  HOWITZER  CAST 
BY  MOHAMMAD  RUMI  IN  I548  AT  AHMAD- 
NAGAR  ........  2II 

BABAR,  HUMAYUN,  AKBAR,  AND  JAHANGIR  . . 221 


ILL  US  TEA  no  NS  X vi  i 

PAGE 

SILVER  COIN  OF  SHER  SHAH,  STRUCK  AT  DELHI,  A.H. 

947  (a.d.  1540-1)  230 

TOMB  OF  HUMAYUN  AT  DELHI  ....  235 

GOLD  COINS  OF  AKBAR  ......  243 

AGRA  GATE,  FATHPUR-SIKRI  .....  253 

THE  DIWAN-I-KHAS,  FATHPUR-SIKRI  . . . 260 

THE  CENTRAL  COLUMN  IN  THE  DIWAN-I-KHAS, 

FATHPUR-SIKRI  ......  265 

THE  GREAT  GATEWAY,  BALAND  DARWAZA,  FATH- 
PUR-SIKRI .......  270 

‘ THE  TURKISH  SULTANA’s  HOUSE,’  FATHPUR-SIKRI  276 
DARUGHA  PERSHAD’S  HOUSE,  FATHPUR-SIKRI  . . 281 

akbar’s  tomb,  at  sikandra  ....  287 

GOLD  COINS  OF  JAHANGIR 297 

PALACE  OF  JAHANGIR  AT  AGRA  ....  3OI 
TOMB  OF  NUR-JAHAn’S  FATHER  AT  AGRA  . • 3H 

COIN  OF  JAHANGIR  AND  NUR-JAHAN,  STRUCK  AT 

AGRA,  A.H.  1037  (a.D.  1627-8)  . . . 317 

ZODIACAL  GOLD  MOHRS  OF  JAHANGIR  . . . 319 

TOMB  OF  JAHANGIR  AT  LAHORE  ....  325 

THE  TAJ-MAHALL  AT  AGRA  .....  337 

SHAH-JAHAN’s  palace  at  AGRA  ....  339 

SHAH-JAHAN  .......  343 

GOLD  COIN  OF  SHAH-JAHAN,  A.H.  1066  (a.D. 

1655-6) 348 

AURANGZIB  ........  361 

THE  JAMl‘  MASJID,  OR  GREAT  MOSQUE,  AT  DELHI  . 369 


ILLUSTRA  no  NS 


xviii 


LATTICE  IN  BATHROOM  OF  SHAH-JAHAN’S  PALACE 

AT  DELHI  . . ...  . . . 371 

THE  DIWAN-I-AMM  AT  DELHI  ....  373 

GOLD  COIN  OF  AURANGZIB,  STRUCK  AT  THATTA, 

A.H.  1072  (a.D.  1661-2)  ....  379 

THE  MIHTAR-I-MAHALL  AT  BIJAPUR  . . . 391 

THE  GREAT  MOSQUE  OF  BIJAPUR  ....  395 

GOLD  COIN  OF  AURANGZIB,  STRUCK  AT  BIJAPUR, 

A.H.  1099  (a.D.  1687-8)  ....  400 


The  portraits  of  Moghul  emperors  are  reproduced  from 
manuscripts  in  the  Ilritish  Museum,  viz.  Babar  from  Add.  5717,  four 
emperors  together  from  Add.  20,734,  Shah-Jahan  and  Aurangzib 
from  .Add.  18,801.  The  illustrations  of  Bijapur  and  the  Malik-i- 
Maidan  are  from  Taylor  and  Fergusson’s  Architecture  at  Beejapoor 
(Murray,  1866),  and  those  of  Gaur  from  J.  H.  Ravenshaw’s  Gaur 
(Kegan  Paul,  1878).  All  the  other  views  are  from  photographs 
taken  for  the  .Archoeological  Survey  of  India.  The  coins  are  from 
specimens  in  the  British  Museum  and  are  fully  described  in  S. 
Lane-Poole’s  Catalogue  of  Oriental  and  Indian  Coins  in  the  British 
Museum. 


BOOK  I 

THE  INVASIONS 

712-1206 


I 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 
THE  ARABS  IN  SIND 
712 

The  population  of  India  in  the  present  day  is 
over  three  hundred  millions,  and  every  sixth 
man  is  a Muslim.  Nine  hundred  years  ago  there 
were  no  Mohammedans  east  of  the  Indus;  where 
now  there  are  more  than  fifty  millions,  and  the  king 
of  England  rules  twice  as  many  Muslim  subjects  as 
the  sultan  of  Turkey  and  the  shah  of  Persia  together. 
For  six  centuries  the  Hindus  submitted  to  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Mohammedan  kings,  and  when  the  great 
effort  was  made  in  1857  to  throw  off  the  British 
yoke,  it  was  round  the  Mohammedan  emperor  of 
Delhi,  though  a mere  shadow  of  a famous  name, 
that  the  mutineers  rallied.  How  the  Muslims,  for- 
eigners both  in  creed  and  race,  came  to  conquer 
India,  and  how  this  small  but  increasing  minority 
imposed  its  will  upon  the  greater  part  of  the  people 
of  the  land,  is  the  subject  of  this  book. 

When  we  speak  of  the  Mohammedans  as  foreign- 


3 


4 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


ers,  we  mean  of  course  the  original  conquerors.  The 
present  Muslim  population  is  almost  as  native  as  the 
Hindus  themselves.  The  invaders  consisted  of 
armies  of  men,  very  few  of  whom  brought  their 
women  with  them.  They  married  Hindu  wives, 
and  the  mixed  race  thus  formed  intermarried  further 
with  the  natives,  and  each  generation  became  more 
and  more  Indian.  Besides  the  Muslims  descended 
from  the  successive  armies  of  invaders  and  their 
native  wives,  a v^ery  large  proportion  of  the  In- 
dian Muslims  were  and  are  native  converts  from 
Hinduism.  It  has  been  estimated  that  about  fifty 
thousand  Hindus  ‘turn  Turk’  annually,  and  neither 
the  religion  nor  the  rule  of  the  Muslims  has  proved 
intolerable  to  the  natives.  Islam  commended  itself 
to  the  Indian  intellect  as  a more  congenial  faith  than 
Christianity,  and  the  disorder  and  corruption  of 
Mohammedan  government  were  not  distasteful  to  a 
people  who  had  never  known  anything  better. 

We  must  dismiss  at  the  outset  any  idea  of  Arabian 
influence  in  India.  The  Mohammedan  conquerors 
were  not  Arabs.  When  the  armies  of  the  Saracens 
spread  out  over  the  ancient  world  in  the  seventh 
century,  they  overcame  most  human  obstacles,  but 
nature  itself  was  sometimes  impregnable.  They 
overran  North  Africa,  but  the  inhospitable  desert  of 
the  Sahara  discouraged  any  southern  expansion ; 
they  occupied  Spain,  but  the  Atlantic  checked  their 
progress  west,  and  being  no  sailors  they  left  to  their 
European  successors  the  glory  of  discovering  the 
New  World.  In  the  East  they  trampled  over  Persia 
as  far  as  the  great  rivers  of  Central  Asia ; but  the 


THE  ARABS  IH  SIND 


5 


icy  walls  of  the  Hindu  Kush  saved  India.  A famous 
Arab  general  subdued  Bokhara  and  Samarkand,  but 
he  did  not  venture  to  surmount  the  snows  that  barred 
the  way  into  Hindustan.  The  Arabs  never  opened 
that  perilous  north-west  passage  which  has  poured  so 
many  foreign  hordes  into  the  teeming  plains  below. 

The  only  Arab  attempt  upon  India  came  from  a 
different  quarter.  Little  as  the  Muslims  of  the  des- 
ert relished  the  wonders  of  the  deep,  there  were  sea- 
faring traders  on  the  Arabian  coasts  to  whom  the 
ports  of  western  India  had  been  familiar  from  the 
earliest  times.  Arab  merchants  sailed  from  Siraf 
and  Hurmuz  in  the  Persian  gulf,  coasting  along  till 
they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Indus,  and  thence  on 
to  Sapera  and  Cambay  ; or  they  even  struck  boldly 
across  from  their  harbours  at  Kalhat  and  Kurayyat 
in  Oman  to  Calicut  and  other  ports  on  the  Malabar 
coast.  These  men  brought  back  tidings  of  the 
wealth  and  luxurj^'  of  India,  of  gold  and  diamonds, 
jewelled  idols,  gorgeous  religious  rites,  and  a wonder- 
ful civilization.  The  temptation  of  such  wealth  was 
sanctioned  by  the  zeal  of  the  iconoclast,  and  the  spo- 
liation of  the  idolaters  became  a means  of  grace.  At 
a time  when  the  armies  of  Islam  were  overrunning 
the  known  world,  such  a field  of  operations  as  India 
could  not  be  overlooked,  and  accordingly  we  find  a 
pillaging  expedition  visiting  Tana  (near  the  present 
Bombay)  as  early  as  637  during  the  reign  of  the  ca- 
liph Omar,  the  second  successor  of  Mohammad  the 
Prophet.  Other  forays  followed,  for  the  Arabs  of 
the  Persian  gulf  were  a venturesome  folk  and  made 
repeated  descents  upon  the  Indian  coast. 


6 


MEDIAiVAL  INDIA 


All  these  however  were  mere  raids.  Plunder,  not 
conquest,  was  their  aim,  and  they  led  to  nothing 
more.  The  only  serious  invasion  of  the  Arabs  went 
by  land  from  Mekran,  the  most  eastern  province  of 
the  caliphate  on  the  Persian  coast,  whose  governors 
frequently  came  to  blows  with  the  Indians  across  the 
frontier,  where  no  natural  barrier  intervened.  The 
invasion  was  belated,  compared  with  the  other  cam- 
paigns, for  the  caliphs’  hands  were  full  of  more  press- 
ing affairs.  The  tremendous  successes  of  the  first 
sweep  of  Arab  conquest  are  apt  to  blind  us  to  the 
tedious  and  toilsome  progress  of  their  arms  in  all 
but  the  earliest  campaigns.  No  doubt  their  triumph 
over  the  degenerate  empires  of  Rome  and  Persia 
was  comparatively  swift.  Five  years  sufficed  for  the 
subjugation  of  Syria,  seven  more  saw  Persia  at  their 
feet,  and  two  were  enough  for  the  conquest  of  all 
Egypt.  But  when  the  Arabs  were  opposed  by  tribes 
as  untamed  and  warlike  as  themselves,  their  advance 
was  slow  and  difficult,  and  every  mile  was  obstin- 
ately disputed.  Carthage,  for  example,  was  all  but 
reached  within  a few  years  of  the  conquest  of  Egypt, 
but  it  did  not  actually  fall  for  nearly  half  a century, 
and  the  vigorous  resistance  of  the  Berber  tribes  de- 
layed the  progress  of  the  Muslims  in  Africa  till 
the  close  of  the  seventh  century.  It  was  the  same 
in  the  East.  While  Persia  was  speedily  overcome  as 
far  as  the  river  Oxus,  it  was  not  till  the  first  decade 
of  the  eighth  century  that  the  country  beyond  its 
banks  was  added  to  the  settled  provinces  of  the 
caliphate.  The  Arabs  were  too  few  for  all  the  work 
they  attempted  in  widely  separated  lands,  and  up 


THE  ARABS  IN  SIND 


7 


to  700  A.D.  they  had  quite  enough  to  do  without 
burdening  themselves  with  such  an  enterprise  as  the 
conquest  of  India. 

The  first  and  only  Arab  invasion  coincided  in 
date  with  two  other  signal  successes  in  distant  parts 
of  the  globe.  Gothic  Spain  was  shattered  at  the 
battle  of  the  Guadalete  in  710;  the  standards  of 
Islam  were  carried  from  Samarkand  to  Kashghar  in 
71 1-7 14;  and  the  valley  of  the  Indus  was  invaded  in 
712.  These  three  steps  mark  the  apogee  of  the  power 
of  the  Omayyad  caliphate,  and  coincide  with  the 
administration  of  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  relent- 
less of  all  Muslim  statesmen.  Al-Hajjaj,  the  gover- 
nor of  Chaldasa,  sent  Kutaiba  north  to  spread  Islam 
over  the  borders  of  Tartary,  and  at  the  same  time 
dispatched  his  own  cousin  Mohammad  Kasim  to 
India.  The  reigning  caliph  consented  unwillingly; 
he  dreaded  the  distance,  the  cost,  the  loss  of  life. 
Even  in  those  days,  to  adapt  modern  phrases,  there 
were  the  opposing  policies  of  ‘ Little  Arabians  ’ and 
‘ Imperialists.’  Hajjaj  was  imperialist  to  the  core, 
and  to  him  the  Arabs  owed  the  impulse  which  gave 
them  all  they  ever  won  in  India. 

The  story  of  Mohammad  Kasim’s  adventures  is 
one  of  the  romances  of  history.  He  was  but  seven- 
teen, and  he  was  venturing  into  a land  scarcely 
touched  as  yet  by  Saracen  spears,  a land  inhabited 
by  warlike  races,  possessed  of  an  ancient  and  deeply 
rooted  civilization,  there  to  found  a government 
which,  however  successful,  would  be  the  loneliest  in 
the  whole  vast  Mohammedan  empire,  a province  cut 
off  by  sea,  by  mountains,  by  desert,  from  all  peoples 


8 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


of  kindred  race  and  faith.  Youth  and  high  spirit, 
however,  forbade  alike  fear  and  foreboding.  The 
young  general  had  at  least  six  thousand  picked 
horsemen  to  his  back,  chosen  from  the  caliph’s  vet- 
erans, with  an  equal  number  of  camelry,  and  was 
supplied  with  a baggage-train  of  three  thousand 
Bactrian  camels.  Marching  through  Mekran,  along 
the  Persian  coast,  he  was  joined  by  the  provincial 
governor  with  more  troops;  and  five  stone-slings  for 
siege-work  were  sent  by  sea  to  meet  him  at  Daibul, 
the  great  mediaeval  port  of  the  Indus  valley,  the 
forerunner  of  Karachi. 

There  in  the  spring  of  712  Mohammad  Kasim  set 
up  his  catapults  and  dug  his  trench.  A description 
of  this  siege  has  come  dowm  to  us  from  an  early  his- 
torian (al-Baladhuri,  writing  about  840),  from  which 
it  appears  that  the  Arab  spearmen  were  drawn  up 
along  the  trench,  each  separate  company  under  its 
own  banner,  and  that  five  hundred  men  were  sta- 
tioned to  work  the  heavy  catapult  named  ‘ the 
Bride.’  A great  red  flag  flaunted  on  the  top  of  a 
tall  temple,  and  the  order  came  from  Hajjaj,  with 
whom  the  general  was  in  constant  communication, 
to  ‘ fix  the  stone-sling  and  shorten  its  foot  and  aim 
at  the  flagstaff.’  So  the  gunners  lowered  the  trajec- 
tory and  brought  down  the  pole  with  a shrewd  shot. 
The  fall  of  the  sacred  flag  dismayed  the  garrison  ; a 
sortie  was  repulsed  with  loss;  the  Muslims  brought 
ladders  and  scaled  the  w’alls,  and  the  place  was  car- 
ried by  assault.  The  governor  fled,  the  Brahmans 
were  butchered,  and  after  three  days  of  carnage  a 
Mohammedan  quarter  was  laid  out,  a mosque  built, 


THE  ARABS  IN  SIND 


9 


and  a garrison  of  four  thousand  men  detached  to 
hold  the  city. 

After  the  storming  of  Daibul,  the  young  general 
marched  up  the  right  bank  of  the  Indus  in  search  of 
the  main  body  of  the  enemy.  Discovering  their  out- 
posts on  the  other  side,  he  tied  a string  of  boats 
together,  filled  them  with  archers,  made  one  end  fast 
to  the  west  bank,  and  then  let  the  whole  floating 
bridge  drift  down  and  across,  like  an  angler’s  cast  of 
flies,  till  it  touched  the  opposite  side,  where  it  was 
made  fast  to  stakes  under  cover  of  the  archers’  ar- 
rows. The  enemy,  unable  to  oppose  the  landing, 
fell  back  upon  Raw'ar,  where  the  Arabs  beheld  for 
the  first  time  the  imposing  array  of  Hindu  chiefs, 
mounted  on  armoured  war-elephants,  and  led  by 
their  king  Dahir.  Naphtha  arrows,  however,  disor- 
dered the  elephants  and  set  fire  to  the  howdahs;  the 
king  was  slain,  the  Hindus  fled,  and  ‘the  Muslims 
were  glutted  with  slaughter.’  The  Indian  women 
showed  the  desperate  courage  for  which  they  were 
famous.  The  king’s  sister  called  them  together,  on 
seeing  the  defeat  of  their  men ; and,  refusing  to  owe 
their  lives  to  the  ‘ vile  cow-eaters,’  at  the  price  of 
dishonour,  they  set  their  house  ablaze  and  perished 
in  the  flames.  Another  victory  at  Brahmanabad 
opened  the  way  to  Multan,  the  chief  city  of  the 
upper  Indus,  which  surrendered  at  discretion,  but 
not  without  an  exhausting  siege.  The  fighting  men 
were  massacred  ; the  priests,  workmen,  women,  and 
children  made  captives. 

The  fall  of  Multan  laid  the  Indus  valley  at  the 
feet  of  the  conqueror.  The  tribes  came  in,  ‘ ringing 


lO  MEDIEVAL  INDIA 

bells  and  beating  drums  and  dancing,’  in  token  of 
welcome.  The  Hindu  rulers  had  oppressed  them 
heavily,  and  the  Jats  and  Meds  and  other  tribes 
were  on  the  side  of  the  invaders.  The  work  of  con- 
quest, as  often  happened  in  India,  was  thus  aided 
by  the  disunion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  jealousies  of 
race  and  creed  conspired  to  help  the  Muslims.  To 
such  suppliants  Mohammad  Kasim  gave  the  liberal 
terms  that  the  Arabs  usually  offered  to  all  but  in- 
veterate foes.  He  imposed  the  customary  poll-tax, 
took  hostages  for  good  conduct,  and  spared  the 
people’s  lands  and  lives.  He  even  left  their  shrines 
undesecrated  : ‘ The  temples,’  he  proclaimed,  ‘ shall 
be  inviolate,  like  the  churches  of  the  Christians,  the 
synagogues  of  the  Jews,  and  the  altars  of  the 
Magians,’  There  was  worldly  wisdom  in  this  tolera- 
tion, for  the  pilgrims’  dues  paid  to  the  temples 
formed  an  important  source  of  revenue,  and  the 
puritanical  Muslims  found  it  expedient  to  compound 
with  idolatry,  as  a vain  thing  but  lucrative,  in  the 
interests  of  the  public  fisc.  Occasional  desecration 
of  Hindu  fanes  took  place, — we  read  of  ‘ a cart-load 
of  four-armed  idols’  sent  as  a suitable  gift  to  the 
caliph,  who  no  doubt  preferred  specie  — but  such 
demonstrations  were  probably  rare  sops  to  the 
official  conscience,  and  as  a rule  the  Mohammedan 
government  of  Multan  was  at  once  tolerant  and 
economic.  The  citizens  and  villagers  were  allowed 
to  furnish  the  tax-collectors  themselves ; the  Brah- 
mans were  protected  and  entrusted  with  high  offices, 
for  which  their  education  made  them  indispensable; 
and  the  conqueror’s  instructions  to  all  his  officers 


THE  ARABS  IN  SIND 


II 


were  wise  and  conciliatory : — ‘ Deal  honestly,’  he 
commanded,  ‘between  the  people  and  the  gover- 
nor; if  there  be  distribution,  distribute  equitably, 
and  fix  the  revenue  according  to  the  ability  to  pay. 
Be  in  concord  among  yourselves,  and  wrangle  not, 
that  the  country  be  not  vexed.’ 

The  young  general’s  fate  was  tragic.  A new 
caliph  succeeded  who  was  no  friend  to  the  con- 
queror of  Sind.  Hajjaj  was  dead,  and  there  was 
none  to  oppose  factious  intrigues  at  the  distant 
court  of  Damascus.  In  spite  of  his  brilliant  achieve- 
ment, Mohammad  Kasim  was  disgraced  and  put  to 
death.  The  story  runs  that  he  had  made  too  free 
with  the  captive  daughters  of  Dahir  before  pre- 
senting them  to  the  caliph’s  harim,  and  that  he  was 
punished  for  the  presumption  by  being  sewn  up 
alive  in  a raw  cow-hide.  ‘ Three  days  afterwards 
the  bird  of  life  arose  from  his  body  and  soared  to 
heaven  ’ ; and  the  hide  with  its  noble  burden  was 
sent  to  Damascus.  The  young  hero  had  made  no 
protest,  never  questioned  the  death-warrant,  but 
submitted  to  the  executioners  with  the  fearless  dig- 
nity he  had  shown  throughout  his  short  but  valiant 
life.  But  when  the  sacrifice  was  accomplished,  the 
Indian  princesses,  moved  perhaps  by  the  courage  of 
a victim  brave  as  their  own  devoted  race,  confessed 
that  their  tale  was  deliberately  invented  to  avenge 
their  father’s  death  upon  his  conqueror.  The  caliph 
in  impotent  fury  had  them  dragged  at  horses’  tails 
through  the  city  till  they  miserably  perished,  but  the 
second  crime  was  no  expiation  for  the  first. 

The  Arabs  had  conquered  Sind,  but  the  conquest 


12 


MEDI/EVAL  INDIA 


was  only  an  episode  in  the  history  of  India  and  of 
Islam,  a triumph  without  results.  The  Indus  pro- 
vince, it  is  true,  is  as  large  as  England,  but  it  consists 
chiefly  of  desert,  and  the  Arabs  made  no  attempt  to 
extend  their  dominion  into  the  fertile  plains  beyond. 
It  has  been  supposed  that  the  crude  civilization  and 
austere  creed  of  the  Muslims  stood  paralyzed  in  face 
of  the  rich  and  ancient  culture,  the  profound  philo- 
sophy, and  the  sensual  ritual  of  the  Hindus;  but 
these  contrasts  did  not  check  the  later  successes  of 
Islam  in  the  same  land.  The  more  obvious  explana- 
tion of  the  Arabs’  failure  is  found  in  the  as  yet  un- 
broken strength  of  the  Rajput  kings  on  the  north 
and  east,  and  in  the  inadequate  forces  dispatched  by 
the  caliphs  for  so  formidable  a project  as  the  con- 
quest of  India.  After  the  first  expedition  under  the 
ill-fated  Mohammad  Kasim  we  hear  of  no  reinforce- 
ments, and  twenty  years  after  his  death  the  Arabs 
were  still  so  insecure  on  the  Indus  that  they  built  a 
city  of  refuge  as  a retreat  in  times  of  jeopardy. 
The  province  was  not  only  imperfectly  subdued  but 
extremely  poor,  and  the  caliphs  soon  abandoned  it 
in  all  but  name  as  too  unremunerative  to  be  worth 
maintaining.  The  Arab  settlers  formed  independ- 
ent dynasties  at  Multan  and  at  the  new  city  of  Man- 
sura  which  the  conqueror’s  son  founded  in  lower 
Sind  ; and  when  the  traveller  Mas'udi  visited  the 
valley  of  the  Indus  in  the  tenth  century  he  found 
chiefs  of  the  Prophet’s  tribe  of  the  Kuraish  ruling 
both  the  upper  and  the  lower  province.  A little 
later  another  traveller,  Ibn-Haukal,  explored  Sind, 
where  he  heard  Arabic  and  Sindi  spoken,  and  ob- 


THE  ARABS  IN  SIND 


13 


served  much  friendly  toleration  between  the  Muslim 
and  Hindu  population.  Soon  afterwards  Multan  be- 
came a refuge  for  scattered  bands  of  Karmathians, 
when  the  power  of  these  anarchists  waned  before  the 
rising  ascendancy  of  the  Fatimid  caliphs  of  Egypt, 
and  Arabia  was  delivered  from  the  Karmathian  reign 
of  terror.  But  the  meagre  annals  of  this  limited  and 
ineffectual  occupation  of  an  unimportant  province 
need  not  detain  us.  The  Arab  conquest  of  Sind 
led  to  nothing,  and  left  scarcely  a vestige  save  in 
the  names  of  certain  Arab  families  and  in  the  ruins 
of  the  buildings  they  destroyed.  The  Arab  cities 
have  perished,  but  the  wrecks  of  the  castles  and  cities 
of  their  predecessors,  which  formed  as  usual  the 
quarries  for  their  conquerors’  buildings,  still  bear 
witness  to  the  civilization  which  they  uprooted. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  IDOL-BREAKER 
MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 

997-1030 

HE  Arab  invasion  was  a failure.  It  attacked 


from  the  wrong  quarter,  entered  on  the  least 
productive  province,  and  was  too  feebly  supported 
to  spread  further.  We  hear  no  more  of  the  Arabs 
as  conquerors  in  India.  The  role  devolved  upon 
the  Turks,  and  when  we  speak  of  the  Mohammedan 
empire  in  India  we  mean  the  rule  of  the  Turks. 
Their  invasion  was  no  part  of  the  expansion  of 
Islam  as  a religious  movement.  It  was  merely  the 
overflow  of  the  teeming  cradle-land  of  Central  Asia, 
the  eastern  counterpart  of  those  vast  migrations  of 
Huns,  Turks,  and  Mongols,  which  from  time  to  time 
swept  over  Europe  like  a locust  cloud.  Huns, 
Scythians,  and  Yavanas  had  poured  into  India  in 
prehistoric  ages  through  those  grim  north-western 
passes  which-every  nowand  then  opened  like  sluice- 
gates to  let  the  turbid  flood  of  barbarians  down  into 
the  deep  calm  waters  of  the  Indian  world.  Their 


14 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


15 


descendants  still  muster  in  tribes  and  clans  on  the 
borders  of  Hindustan,  and  have  brought  strange 
customs  and  beliefs  to  mingle  with  that  old  religion 
of  the  Vedas  which  the  Aryan  forefathers  of  the 
Brahmans  and  Rajputs  bore  with  them  through  the 
same  narrow  entry.  Following  in  their  track  Alex- 
ander led  his  armies  to  meet  Porus  on  the  Hydaspes ; 
and  after  him  came  Graeco-Bactrian  legions  to  inspire 
new  ideas  of  art  and  civilization,  and  to  learn  per- 
haps more  than  they  taught.  Finally  the  Muslim 
Turks  discovered  the  same  road,  and  once  familiar 
with  the  way,  they  came  again  and  again  until  all 
India,  save  the  very  apex  of  the  south,  owned  their 
sway. 

The  southerly  migration  of  the  Turks  was  the 
master-movement  in  the  Mohammedan  empire  in 
the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries.  Hitherto  the 
caliphate  had  remained  undisturbed  by  armed  inva- 
sion. On  the  fall  of  the  Omayyad  line,  the  seat  of 
government  had  been  moved  from  Damascus  to  the 
new  capital  founded  by  their  successors  the  Abbasid 
caliphs  at  Baghdad,  and  the  change  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  a large  influx  of  Persian  ideas  into  the 
Arab  system.  Persian  officials,  better  educated  and 
shrewder  men  of  affairs,  replaced  Arabs  in  many  of 
the  chief  posts  of  government,  and  as  the  central 
authority  grew  weaker  and  more  effeminate,  Persian 
governors  acquired  almost  independent  power  in 
the  more  distant  provinces  and  began  to  found 
hereditary  dynasties,  one  of  the  most  powerful  and 
enlightened  of  which  was  that  of  the  Samanid  princes 
in  the  country  about  the  Oxus. 


i6 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


The  increase,  peaceful  as  it  was,  of  Persian  influ- 
ence, combined  with  the  constant  jealousies  and 
truculence  of  the  Arab  tribes  settled  in  Mesopota- 
mia, induced  the  caliphs  to  provide  themselves  with 
a guard  of  mercenaries  closely  attached  to  the  throne, 
and  for  this  purpose  the  warlike  and  handsome 
young  Turks  captured  on  the  northern  frontier 
supplied  all  that  was  desired  in  valour  and  ability. 
Surrounded  by  such  praetorians  the  caliphs  indulged 
their  love  of  luxury  free  from  the  dread  of  Persian 
usurpation  or  Arab  revolt.  But  it  was  introducing 
the  wooden  horse  into  the  Muslim  Troy.  The 
Turkish  guard  became  the  masters  of  the  caliphs; 
Turkish  officers  gradually  acquired  the  control  of 
provinces ; and  throughout  the  Mohammedan  em- 
pire, from  Egypt  to  Samarkand,  the  Turks  became 
the  dominant  race.  Their  success  attracted  others 
of  their  kind.  Like  Joseph  they  soon  invited  their 
brethren  to  come  and  share  their  prosperity.  Turks 
overflowed  into  Persia  from  their  native  steppes; 
the  Samanid  kingdom,  after  two  centuries  of  power 
well  employed,  fell  to  a scramble  among  Turkish 
adventurers,  and  this  scramble  led  to  the  invasion  of 
India. 

Among  the  Turkish  condottiere  who  rose  to  high 
office  in  northern  Persia  was  one  Alptagin,  who, 
falling  out  with  his  Samanid  lord,  established  him- 
self with  a couple  of  thousand  followers  in  the  fort- 
ress of  Ghazni ' in  the  heart  of  the  Afghan  mountains 
(a.D.  962).  Here,  in  a kind  of  no-man’s-land,  secure 

' Ghazni,  the  modern  spelling,  is  written  Ghaznin  in  Persian  and 
Ghazna  in  Arabic. 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


17 


from  interference,  he  made  his  little  kingdom,  and 
here  after  an  interval  his  slave  Sabuktagin  reigned  in 
his  stead  (976).  The  new  ruler  was  not  content  with 
the  original  stronghold  of  his  master.  He  gathered 
under  his  banner  the  neighbouring  Afghan  tribes, 
added  whole  provinces  to  his  dominions, — Laghman 
to  the  east  in  the  Kabul  valley,  Sistan  on  the  Persian 
side; — and,  when  called  in  to  support  the  tottering 
Samanid  prince  of  Bukhara  against  the  encroaching 
Turks,  he  turned  the  occasion  to  his  own  advantage 
and  placed  his  son  Mahmud  in  command  of  the  rich 
province  of  Khurasan.  Sabuktagin  was  the  first 
Muslim  who  attempted  the  invasion  of  India  from 
the  north-west.  He  went  but  a little  way,  it  is  true; 
his  repeated  defeat  of  Jaipal,  the  Brahman  raja  of  the 
Panjab,  in  the  Kabul  valley,  ended  only  in  the  tem- 
porary submission  of  the  Indian  king  and  the 
payment  of  tribute ; but  it  pointed  the  way  into 
Hindustan. 

Sabuktagin  died  (997)  before  he  could  accomplish 
any  larger  scheme,  but  his  son  more  than  realized 
his  most  daring  dreams.  Mahmud  had  all  his 
father’s  soldierly  energy  and  spirit  of  command, 
joined  to  a restless  activity,  a devouring  ambition, 
and  the  temper  of  a zealot.  Zeal  for  Islam  was  the 
dominant  note  of  the  tenth-century  Turks,  as  of 
most  callow  converts.  The  great  missionary  creed 
of  Mohammad,  which  to  the  Arabs  and  Persians  had 
become  a familiar  matter  of  routine,  was  a source  of 
fiery  inspiration  to  the  fresh  untutored  men  of  the 
steppes.  To  spread  the  faith  by  conquest  doubled 
their  natural  zest  for  battle  and  endowed  them  with 


I8 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


the  devoted  valour  of  martyrs.  Mahmud  was  a 
staunch  Muslim,  and  if  his  campaigns  against  the 
idolaters  brought  him  rich  store  of  treasure  and 
captives,  it  was  in  his  eyes  no  more  than  the  fit  re- 
ward of  piety ; and  in  the  intervals  between  his 
forays  into  heathendom  he  would  sit  down  and  copy 
Korans  for  the  health  of  his  soul.  The  caliph  of 
Baghdad,  who  had  probably  outgrown  such  illusions, 
was  not  the  man  to  baulk  a willing  sword.  He  sent 
Mahmud  his  pontifical  sanction  and  the  official  di- 


GOLD  COIN  OF  MAHMUD,  STRUCK  AT  NAISABUR  IN  KHURASAN, 
A.H.  402  (A.D.  IOII-12). 

ploma  of  investiture  as  rightful  lord  of  Ghazni  and 
Khurasan,  and  in  the  height  of  satisfaction  Mahmud 
vowed  that  every  year  should  see  him  wage  a Holy 
War  against  the  infidels  of  Hindustan. 

If  he  did  not  keep  the  letter  of  his  vow,  he  fell 
little  short.  Between  the  years  lOOO  and  1026  he 
made  at  least  sixteen  distinct  campaigns  in  India,  in 
which  he  ranged  across  the  plains  from  the  Indus  to 
the  Ganges.*  His  first  attack  was  of  course  upon 


' Authorities  differ  as  to  the  number  and  order  of  these  campaigns. 
The  following  is  Sir  II.  M.  Elliot’s  arrangement ; l.  Frontier  towns, 
A.D.  1000;  2.  Peshawar  and  Waihind,  1001;  3.  Bhira  (Bhatia), 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


19 


the  frontier  towns  of  the  Khaibar  pass.  His  father’s 
old  enemy  Jaipal  endeavoured  in  vain  to  save  Pesha- 
war. Mahmud  threw  out  15,000  of  his  best  horse- 
men and  utterly  routed  him,  despite  his  larger  forces 
and  his  300  elephants.  Jaipal  and  fifteen  of  his  kin- 
dred were  brought  captives  before  the  conqueror. 
Their  jewelled  necklaces,  worth,  it  is  said,  ninety 
thousand  guineas  ’ apiece,  were  torn  off,  and  half  a 
million  of  slaves,  and  booty  past  counting,  according 
to  the  florid  statements  of  the  oriental  historians,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Muslims.  Mahmud  was  not 
cruel;  he  seldom  indulged  in  wanton  slaughter;  and 
when  a treaty  of  peace  had  been  concluded,  the  raja 
and  his  friends  were  set  free.  With  the  proud  de- 
spair of  his  race  Jaipal  refused  to  survive  his  dis- 
grace. Preferring  death  to  dishonour,  he  cast  himself 
upon  a funeral  pyre. 

There  were  many  other  kings  besides  Jaipal,  how- 
ever, and  when — after  a successful  raid  upon  Bhira, 
where  ‘ the  Hindus  rubbed  their  noses  in  the  dust  of 
disgrace,’  and  another  to  Multan,  whose  Mohamme- 
dan (or  rather  Karmathian)  ruler  fled  aghast — 
Mahmud  appeared  again  at  the  moutli  of  the  Khai- 
bar in  1008,  he  found  all  the  rajas  of  the  Panjab, 

1004;  4.  Multan,  1006;  5.  Against  Nawasa,  1007:  6.  Nagarkot, 
1008;  7.  Narain,  1009;  8.  Multan,  loio  ; 9.  Ninduna,  1013;  10. 
Thanesar,  1014  ; It.  Lohkot  (perhaps  = 14),  1015  ; 12.  Mathura, 
Kanauj,  1018  ; 13.  The  Rahib,  1021  ; 14.  Kirat,  Lohkot,  Lahore, 
1022;  15.  Gwaliar,  Kalinjar,  1023:  16.  Somnath,  1025-6;  17.  The 
Jats,  1026. 

' 180,000  dinars.  The  Arab  gold  dinar  of  this  time  was  almost 
exactly  the  weight  of  a half-guinea,  and  it  is  therefore  convenient  to 
State  values  in  guineas. 


20 


MEDI.^VAL  INDIA 


backed  by  allies  from  other  parts  of  Hindustan,  ‘ a 
measureless  multitude,’  mustered  to  resist  him,  with 
Anandpal  the  son  of  Jaipal  at  their  head.  Mahmud 
had  never  yet  encountered  such  an  army,  and  he 
hastily  intrenched  his  camp  and  waited  forty  days 
facing  the  constantly  swelling  forces  of  the  enemy. 
His  'first  move,  probably  a mere  reconnaissance,  was 
disastrous.  The  thousand  archers  he  sent  forward 
were  chased  back  into  the  camp  followed  by  a charg- 
ing mob  of  wild  Gakkars — a fierce  Scythian  tribe 
whose  outbreaks  troubled  the  peace  of  the  north- 
west frontier  as  late  as  1857,  whose  savage  aspect, 
bareheaded  and  barefoot,  and  barbarous  habits  of 
infanticide  and  polyandry,  struck  terror  and  disgust 
among  the  Muslims.  These  frantic  hillmen  rushed 
the  trenches  and  slashed  right  and  left ; man  and 
horse  fell  before  their  onslaught,  and  it  almost  came 
to  a panic  among  the  Turks.  The  Rajputs  were  al- 
ready advancing  under  cover  of  the  Gakkars’  charge, 
and  Mahmud  was  about  to  sound  the  retreat,  when 
one  of  those  lucky  accidents  happened  which  have 
often  turned  the  fortune  of  a day.  Anandpal’s 
elephant  took  fright ; the  rumour  ran  that  the  raja 
was  flying  from  the  field ; vague  suspicions  and  dis- 
trust spread  about,  and  a general  stampede  ensued. 
Instead  of  retreating  before  a victorious  army,  in  the 
turn  of  an  instant  Mahmud  found  himself  pursuing 
a panic-stricken  crowd.  For  two  days  the  Muslims 
slew,  captured,  and  despoiled  to  their  hearts’  con- 
tent. ‘ They  had  come  through  fire  and  through 
water,  but  their  Lord  had  brought  them  into  a 
wealthy  place.’ 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


21 


On  a spur  of  the  snow  mountains,  surrounded 
by  a moat,  stood  the  fortress  of  Kangra  (Nagarkot), 
deemed  impregnable  by  mortal  power.  Here  the 
rajas  and  wealthy  men  of  India  were  wont  to  store 
their  treasure,  and  hither  the  triumphing  Muslims 
came,  hot  with  pursuit  and  victory.  The  panic  that 
had  dissolved  the  hosts  of  the  Panjab  seized  also 
upon  the  garrison  of  the  fortress,  weakened  as  it 
must  have  been  by  the  general  levy  to  oppose  the 
invaders.  At  Mahmud’s  blockade  the  defenders 
‘ fell  to  the  earth  like  sparrows  before  the  hawk.’ 
Immense  stores  of  treasure  and  jewels,  money  and 
silver  ingots,  were  laden  upon  camels,  and  a pavilion 
of  silver  and  a canopy  of  Byzantine  linen  reared  upon 
pillars  of  silver  and  gold  were  among  the  prizes  of 
the  Holy  War.  The  booty  was  displayed  in  the 
court  of  the  palace  at  Ghazni,  ‘jewels  and  unbored 
pearls  and  rubies,  shining  like  sparks  or  iced  wine, 
emeralds  as  it  were  sprigs  of  young  myrtle,  diamonds 
as  big  as  pomegranates.’  The  eastern  chroniclers 
tell  of  seventy  million  silver  dirhams,  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  pounds’  weight  of  silver  cups  and 
vessels ; and,  with  every  allowance  for  exaggeration, 
the  spoils  must  have  been  colossal.  All  the  world 
flocked  to  Ghazni  to  gaze  upon  the  incredible  wealth 
of  India. 

Such  rewards  were  incentives  enough  to  carry  on 
the  pious  work.  Year  after  year  Mahmud  swept 
over  the  plains  of  Hindustan,  capturing  cities  and 
castles,  throwing  down  temples  and  idols,  and  earn- 
ing his  titles  of  ‘Victor’  and  ‘Idol-breaker,’  Ghazi 
and  Batshikan.  Little  is  known  of  the  political 


22 


MEDIy^VAL  INDIA 


condition  of  India  at  the  time  of  these  raids,  but  it 
is  evident  that  after  the  great  rout  in  the  Panjab 
there  was  no  concerted  resistance.  The  country  was 
split  up  into  numerous  kingdoms,  many  of  which 
were  at  feud  with  one  another.  There  were  the 
Brahman  kings  of  Gandhara  on  the  Indus,  the  To- 
maras  at  Delhi  and  Kanauj,  the  Buddhist  Palas  of 
Magadha  on  the  lower  Ganges,  the  survivors  of  the 
Guptas  in  Malwa,  the  Kalachuris  on  the  Narbada, 
the  Chandillas  of  Mahoba,  and  many  more,  who 
united  might  have  stemmed  any  invasion,  but  whose 
jealousies  brought  their  ruin.  Interna'  division  has 
proved  the  undoing  of  India  again  and  again,  and 
has  sapped  the  power  of  mere  numbers  which  alone 
could  enable  the  men  of  the  warm  plains  to  stand 
against  the  hardy  mountain  tribes  and  the  relentless 
horsemen  of  the  Central  Asian  steppes.  To  the 
contrasts  of  union  and  disunion,  north  and  south, 
race  and  climate,  was  added  the  zeal  of  the  Muslim 
and  the  greed  of  the  robber.  The  mountaineers 
were  as  poor  as  they  were  brave,  and  covetous  as 
they  were  devout.  The  treasures  of  India,  heaped 
up  round  the  colossal  figures  of  obscene  idols,  ap- 
pealed irresistibly  to  these  hungry  fanatics.  It  was 
no  wonder  that  they  carried  all  before  them,  de- 
voured the  rich  lands  like  a cloud  of  locusts,  and 
returned  to  their  frozen  homes  with  a welcome  such 
as  meets  the  mooring  of  an  argosy.  Each  campaign 
made  them  stronger  and  more  terrible.  They 
brought  home  not  treasure  only  but  recruits,  and 
to  the  volunteers  who  flocked  to  the  spdil  from  the 
Oxus  and  laxartes,  and  to  the  unrivalled  cavalry  of 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


23 


their  native  steppes,  they  gradually  added  a powerful 
force  of  elephantry  fit  to  confront  the  heavy  arm 
that  formed  the  first  line  in  an  Indian  battle. 

Mahmud’s  success,  however,  was  not  won  without 
hard  fighting  and  sore  privations.  Man  was  more 
easily  overcome  than  nature,  and  the  endurance  of 
the  hardy  and  vigorous  northmen  was  often  tested 
almost  to  the  breaking-point.  When  they  set  out  in 
1013  to  invade  ‘the  capital  of  India,’  whose  king 
had  failed  to  pay  his  annual  tribute  of  fifty  laden 
elephants  and  two  thousand  slaves,  they  were  checked 
at  the  frontier  by  deep  snow ; the  mountains  and 
valleys  appeared  almost  level  under  the  treacherous 
white  mantle,  and  the  army  was  forced  to  protect 
itself  in  winter  quarters.  Moving  onwards  in  the 
warmer  weather,  they  wandered  for  months  ‘among 
broad  deep  rivers  and  dense  jungles  where  even 
wild  beasts  might  get  lost.’  At  last  they  found  ‘the 
king  of  India’ — probably  one  of  the  Sahi  dynasty  of 
Gandhara  — posted  in  a narrow  pass  with  his  vassals 
at  his  back.  The  veterans  from  the  Oxus  and  those 
‘ devilish  Afghan  spearmen  bored  into  the  gorge  like 
a gimlet  into  wood,’  but  it  took  several  days  of  hard 
fighting  before  the  place  was  carried.  Then  followed 
a weary  march  across  the  stern  desert  of  Rajputana 
to  Thanesar,  a day’s  journey  from  Delhi,  and  here 
again  a local  raja  had  to  be  dislodged  from  a steep 
pass  where  he  waited  with  his  splendid  troop  of  Cey- 
lon elephants  behind  a rapid  river.  But  Mahmud  was 
no  novice  in  tactics.  He  forded  the  river  and 
crowned  the  heights  on  either  side,  and  while  two 
detachments  fell  upon  the  enemy’s  flanks  the  sultan’s 


24 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


main  battle  flung  itself  into  the  ravine  and  the  posi- 
tion was  stormed.  The  river  ran  blood,  the  pass 
was  a shambles ; but  the  Hindus  fled,  their  famous 
elephants  were  captured,  and  their  town  gave  up  its 
spoil. 

There  was  no  lack  of  volunteers  to  aid  in  the  Holy 
War.  Mahmud’s  victories  were  known  all  over  the 
East,  and  twenty  thousand  warriors  came  to  him 
from  the  country  beyond  the  Oxus,  praying  to  be 
granted  the  privilege  of  fighting  for  the  faith  and  so 
perchance  attaining  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  With 
a large  army,  stiffened  by  these  zealots,  the  sultan 
fought  his  greatest  campaign  in  ioi8,  and  pushed 
further  east  than  ever  before.  He  marched  upon 
Kanauj,  the  capital  of  the  Tomara  rajas  and  then 
reputed  the  chief  city  of  Hindustan.  The  march 
was  an  orgy  and  an  ovation.  Everywhere  envoys 
waited  on  the  conqueror  bearing  proffers  of  homage 
and  welcome.  The  chief  who  held  the  passes  of 
Kashmir,  which  immemorial  jealousy  had  guarded 
with  infinite  precaution  from  foreign  footsteps,  ten- 
dered his  fealty  and  his  service  as  a guide.  One 
after  the  other  the  rivers  of  India  were  crossed, 
Indus,  Jehlam,  Chenab,  Ravi,  Sutlej,  with  scarcely  a 
check.  Forts  and  cities  surrendered  as  the  great 
sultan  passed  by;  abject  chiefs  placed  their  followers 
at  his  disposal;  through  the  thick  jungle  he  pene- 
trated ‘ like  a comb  through  a poll  of  hair,’  fighting 
when  necessary,  but  more  often  triumphing  by  mere 
prestige.  Early  in  December  he  reached  the  Jumna 
and  stood  before  the  walls  of  Mathura,  an  ancient 
home  of  Hindu  worship,  filled  with  temples  ‘not 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


25 


built  by  man  but  by  the  Jinn,’  where  colossal  golden 
idols  flashed  with  jewels,  and  silver  gods  of  loathly 
aspect  stood  so  huge  that  they  had  to  be  broken  up 
before  they  could  be  weighed. 

Pressing  eastwards,  Kanauj  was  reached  before 
Christmas.  The  raja  had  already  fled  at  the  mere 
bruit  of  the  sultan’s  coming,  and  the  seven  forts 
of  the  great  city  on  the  Ganges  fell  in  one  day. 
Of  all  its  gorgeous  shrines  not  a temple  was  spared. 
Nor  were  the  neighbouring  princes  more  fortunate. 
Deep  jungles  and  broad  moats  could  not  protect 
Chandal  Bhor  of  Asi ; and  even  Chand  Rai,  the 
great  lord  of  Sharwa,  when  he  heard  the  ominous 
tramp  of  the  Turkish  horsemen,  gathered  up  his 
treasures  and  made  for  the  hills : for  it  was  told  him 
that  ‘ Sultan  Mahmud  was  not  like  the  rulers  of 
Hind,  and  those  who  followed  him  were  not  black 
men.'  P'light  did  not  save  Chand  Rai ; the  enemy 
tracked  him  through  the  forest,  and  coming  up  with 
him  at  midnight  attacked  in  the  dark,  routed,  plun- 
dered, and  revelled  for  three  days,  and  carried  home 
such  booty  and  mobs  of  prisoners  that  the  slave 
markets  of  Persia  were  glutted  and  a servant  could 
be  bought  for  a couple  of  shillings. 

Two  years  later  the  sultan  met  the  evasive  raja  of 
Kanauj.  It  was  at  the  ‘ Rahib,’  — probably  the 
Ramaganga,  — a deep  river  with  a black  bituminous 
bottom,  ‘ fit  to  scald  a scabby  sheep.’  Fording  was 
out  of  the  question,  and  Mahmud  ordered  his  ad- 
vance-guard to  swim  the  river  on  air-skins,  plying 
their  bows  as  they  swam.  The  men  plunged  in, 
the  Hindus  scurried  away,  and  once  more  victory 


26 


MEDIy^VAL  INDIA 


declared  for  the  men  of  the  north.  In  the  next  two 
campaigns  Lahore,  Gwaliar,  and  Kalinjar  surren- 
dered to  a conqueror  who  would  take  no  denial,  and 
in  the  winter  of  1025-6  the  sultan  made  his  final 
march  into  Gujarat,  crowned  with  the  capture  of 
Somnath,  its  costly  temple  and  its  wondrous  god. 
There  a hundred  thousand  pilgrims  were  wont  to 
assemble,  a thousand  Brahmans  served  the  temple 
and  guarded  its  treasures,  and  hundreds  of  dancers 
and  singers  played  before  its  gates.  Within  stood 
the  famous  linga,'  a rude  pillar-stone  adorned  with 
gems  and  lighted  by  jewelled  candelabra  which 
were  reflected  in  the  rich  hangings,  embroidered 
with  precious  stones  like  stars,  that  decked  the 
shrine. 

So  long  as  this  worshipful  emblem  stood  inviolate, 
Mahmud  could  not  rest  from  his  idol-breaking,  nor 
his  treasury  boast  the  finest  gems  in  India.  Hence 
his  arduous  march  across  the  desert  from  Multan  to 
Anhalwara,  and  on  to  the  coast,  fighting  as  he  went, 
until  he  saw  at  last  the  famous  fortress  washed  by 
the  waves  of  the  Arabian  sea.  Its  ramparts  swarmed 
with  incredulous  Brahmans,  mocking  the  vain  ar- 
rogance of  the  foreign  infidels  whom  the  god  of 
Somnath  would  assuredly  consume.  The  foreigners, 

' As  has  often  been  pointed  out,  the  legend  in  Firishta’s  history 
that  the  priests  tried  to  bribe  Mahmud  to  spare  the  idol,  and  that  he 
clove  it  in  two  with  his  sword,  whereupon  a vast  hoard  of  jewels 
poured  from  its  vitals,  is  manifestly  absurd.  The  idol,  as  Sir  W.  W. 
Hunter  observed,  ‘ was  merely  one  of  the  twelve  lingas  or  phallic 
emblems  erected  in  various  parts  of  India,’  and  could  not  be  cut  by 
a sword  ; though  it  is  possible  that  a hiding-place  was  excavated 
in  it. 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


27 


nothing  daunted,  scaled  the  walls;  the  god  remained 
dumb  to  the  urgent  appeals  of  his  servants;  fifty 
thousand  Hindus  suffered  for  their  faith,  and  the 
sacred  shrine  was  sacked  to  the  joy  of  the  true  be- 


INUIAN  BILLON  CURRENCY  OF  MAHMUD,  STRUCK  AT  MAHMUDPUR, 
A.H.  418  (A.D.  1027). 

lievers.  The  great  stone  was  cast  down,  and  its 
fragments  carried  off  to  grace  the  conqueror’s  palace. 
The  temple  gates  were  set  up  at  Ghazni,'  and  a 
million  pounds’  worth  of  treasure  rewarded  the 
iconoclast. 

The  sack  of  Somnath  has  made  Mahmud  of  Ghazni 
a champion  of  the  faith  in  the  eyes  of  every  Muslim 
for  nearly  nine  centuries,  and  the  feat,  signal  enough 
in  itself,  has  been  embellished  with  fantastic  legends. 
The  difficulties  of  the  outward  march  were  renewed 
on  the  return  ; the  army  was  led  astray  by  treacher- 
ous guides  and  almost  perished  in  the  waterless 
desert,  from  which  it  escaped  only  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  predatory  Jats  of  the  Salt  Range,  who 
harrassed  the  e.xhausted  troops  as  they  toiled  home- 

' The  deodar  gates  at  Agra,  which  were  brought  by  Lord 
Ellenborough  from  the  tomb  of  Mahmud  in  1842  and  were  paraded 
as  the  gates  of  Somnath,  are  obviously  later,  and  bear  an  epitaph 
of  the  sultan. 


28 


MEDIALVAL  INDIA 


wards  laden  with  spoils.  It  was  to  punish  their 
temerity  that  before  the  year  was  over  Mahmud  led 
his  army  for  the  last  time  into  India.  He  is  said  to 
have  built  a fleet  at  Multan,  armed  it  with  spikes 
and  rams,  and  placed  twenty  archers  with  naphtha 
bombs  on  each  of  his  fourteen  hundred  boats,  which 
engaged  the  vessels  of  the  Jats,  four  thousand  in 
number,  and  by  rams  and  naphtha  sank  or  burned 
their  craft.  Whatever  really  happened,  we  may  be 
sure  that  there  were  never  five  thousand  boats  on 
the  upper  Indus,  and  that  mountain  tribes  do  not 
usually  fight  naval  battles.  Having  chastised  the 
Jats,  whether  by  land  or  water  matters  little,  Mah- 
mud retired  to  Ghazni,  where  he  died  four  years 
later  (30  April,  1030). 

In  all  these  laborious  though  triumphant  cam- 
paigns the  thought  of  their  home-coming  must  have 
been  uppermost  in  ev^ery  man’s  mind,  from  sultan  to 
bhisti.  There  was  no  dream  of  occupying  India. 
The  very  disunion  and  jealousy  of  the  Hindu  rajas, 
which  smoothed  the  way  to  wide  and  successful 
forays,  offered  obvious  obstacles  to  permanent  an- 
nexation. Each  victory  meant  no  more  than  the 
conquest  of  one  or  more  princes ; the  rest  were  un- 
affected, and,  since  there  was  no  single  supreme  head 
to  treat  with,  the  most  complete  success  in  the  field 
did  not  imply  the  submission  of  the  country.  The 
mass  of  the  people,  no  doubt,  did  submit,  just  as 
they  have  patiently  submitted  to  a series  of  foreign 
rulers  with  immovable  indifference  ; but  so  long  as 
there  were  chiefs  in  arms,  followed  by  bands  of  des- 
perate Rajputs,  an  occupation  of  India  was  beyond 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


29 


the  means  of  the  forces  of  Ghazni.  But  Mahmud  did 
not  aim  at  permanent  conquest.  The  time  had  not 
yet  come  when  the  Turks  could  think  seriously  of  liv- 
ing in  India.  Their  home  was  still  beyond  the  passes, 
and  in  the  latter  years  of  his  reign  Mahmud  had  ex- 
tended his  rule  over  the  greater  part  of  Persia,  as  far 
as  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan, — a land  of  Muslims 
and  in  every  way,  save  wealth,  infinitely  preferable  in 
Turkish  eyes  to  sultry  Hindustan,  though  not  perhaps 
to  the  climbing  terraced  villages  among  the  sweet 
green  valleys  and  familiar  crags  of  the  Afghan  hills. 

Mahmud  had  overrun  northern  India  from  the 
Indus  to  the  Ganges,  but  his  home  was  still  Ghazni, 
h\?,patria  was  among  the  mountains.  Here  he  stored 
his  immense  treasure,  and  here  he  presided  over  a 
stately  and  cultivated  court.  Like  many  a great 
soldier  he  loved  the  society  of  educated  men.  The 
man  of  action  is  every  whit  as  inapt  to  ‘ suffer 
fools  gladly’  as  the  man  of  culture  ; and  this  restless 
adventurer,  after  sweeping  like  a pestilence  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles  across  India,  or  pouncing  like  a hawk 
upon  Khwarizm  beside  the  sea  of  Aral,  and  then 
coursing  south  to  Hamadhan  almost  within  call 
of  Baghdad  itself,  would  settle  down  to  listen  to 
the  songs  of  poets  and  the  wise  conversation  of 
divines.  If  Mahmud  is  to  Muslims  for  all  time  a 
model  of  a god-fearing  king,  zealous  for  the  faith,  his 
court  has  not  less  been  held  a pattern  of  humane 
culture,  and  it  deserved  its  reputation.  Napoleon 
imported  the  choicest  works  of  art  from  the  countries 
he  subdued  to  adorn  his  Paris  ; Mahmud  did  better, 
he  brought  the  artists  and  the  poets  themselves  to 


30 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


illuminate  his  court.  From  the  cities  of  the  Oxus 
and  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  from  Persia  and 
Khurasan,  he  pressed  into  his  service  the  lights  of 
oriental  letters,  and  compelled  them,  not  unwillingly, 
to  revolve  round  his  sun  like  planets  in  his  firmament 
of  glory.  The  ruin  of  the  Samanid  dynasty,  who 
had  been  noble  fosterers  of  Persian  literature,  left 
many  scholars  and  poets  unprovided,  and  these  came 
eagerly  to  the  new  home  of  learning. 

The  names  of  the  many  luminaries  who  shone  at 
the  court  of  Ghazni  may  not  convey  very  definite 
ideas  to  Western  readers,  but  they  are  among  the 
leaders  of  Eastern  literature  and  science,  and  some 
have  a reputation  outside  the  circle  of  orientalists. 
Biruni,  the  astronomer,  chronologist,  and  even  stu- 
dent of  Sanskrit ; Farabi,  the  philosopher,  whom 
Mahmud  prized  the  more  since  Avicenna  himself 
refused  to  be  lured  to  Ghazni;  Utbi,  the  historian 
and  secretary  to  the  sultan  ; Baihaki,  whose  gossip- 
ing memoirs  have  earned  him  the  title  of  ‘ the 
oriental  Mr.  Pepys  ’ ; Unsuri  and  Farrukhi  and  As- 
judi,  among  the  earliest  poets  of  the  Persian  revival, 
and  above  all  Firdausi,  the  Persian  Homer,  in  whose 
‘ Shah  Nama  ’ the  heroes  of  old  Persian  legend  live 
for  ever — these  were  among  the  men  to  whom  Mah- 
mud was  gracious  and  who  in  return  made  Ghazni 
and  its  master  renowned  beyond  the  fame  of  glorious 
war.  There  is  no  need  to  repeat  here  the  oft-told 
story  of  Firdausi’s  wrath  at  the  silver  guerdon  with 
which  the  sultan  crowned  the  famous  epic.  Sixty 
thousand  pieces  of  silver — even  though  the  poet 
had  been  promised  gold — represent  something  like 


MAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


31 


^2500,  and  would  be  a welcome  remuneration  for  a 
library  of  epics  in  the  present  day.  Milton  had  to 
be  content  with  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  part  of 
such  a sum  for  ‘ Paradise  Lost.’  The  notable  part 
of  the  story  is,  not  that  the  poet  indignantly  spurned 
the  gift,  threw  it  loftily  among  the  menials,  and 
then  rewarded  Mahmud’s  kindness  and  support  by 
a scathing  satire — such  outbreaks  belong  to  the  genus 
irritabile — but  that  the  great  sultan  at  last  forgave 
the  insult  and  sent  a second  lavish  gift,  of  50,000 
guineas,  to  appease  the  offended  poet  in  his  exile. 
It  was  the  usual  irony  of  fate  that  the  reward  reached 
Firdausi’s  home  in  Khurasan  just  at  the  moment 
when  his  body  was  being  borne  to  the  grave. 

Though  one  must  acquit  the  sultan  of  any  want 
of  appreciation  of  Firdausi’s  great  work,  or  indeed 
of  literary  and  scientific  achievement  in  general, 
tradition  will  have  it  that  he  was  avaricious  ; and 
there  is  a quaint  anecdote  in  Sa'di’s  ‘ Rose  Garden  ’ 
— a tedious  but  renowned  Persian  classic — in  which 
it  is  related  how  a certain  king  of  Khurasan  dreamed 
that  he  saw  Mahmud  a hundred  years  after  his 
death,  and  perceived  that,  whilst  his  body  had 
crumbled  to  dust,  the  eyes  still  rolled  in  their  sock- 
ets, as  if  seeking  the  wealth  that  had  vanished  from 
their  sight.  Yet  it  is  hard  to  reconcile  this  reputa 
tion  for  avarice  with  what  is  recorded  of  the  sultan’s 
gifts;  with  his  annual  grant  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand guineas  to  men  of  letters  ; his  foundation  of  a 
university  at  Ghazni,  endowed  with  a great  library, 
a museum,  salaried  professors,  and  pensions  for 
scholars ; his  sumptuous  mosque  of  marble  and 


32 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


granite,  furnished  with  gold  and  silver  lamps  and 
ornaments  and  spread  with  costly  carpets ; or  the 
aqueducts,  fountains,  cisterns,  and  other  improve- 
ments with  which  he  enriched  his  capital.  If 
Mahmud  was  fond  of  money,  assuredly  he  knew 
how  to  spend  it  wisely  and  munificently ; and  the 
splendour  of  his  courtiers’  palaces,  vying  with  his 
own,  testified  to  the  liberal  encouragement  of  the 
arts  which  raised  Ghazni,  under  the  rule  of  the  Idol- 
breaker,  from  a barrack  of  outlaws  to  the  first  rank 
among  the  many  stately  cities  of  the  caliphate. 

The  man  who  could  so  create  and  develop  a 
centre  of  civilization  was  no  barbarian.  Like  some 
other  ugly  men,  Mahmud  is  said  to  have  devoted 
himself  to  the  cultivation  of  his  mind  in  order  to  efface 
the  impression  of  his  physical  defects  ; but  it  was  no 
ordinary  mind  that  he  had  to  work  upon,  and  no 
mean  genius  that  could  expand  a little  mountain 
principality  into  an  empire  that  stretched  to  the 
Caspian  and  Aral  seas  and  almost  to  the  Tigris,  and 
that  covered,  at  least  for  the  time,  half  the  vast 
plains  and  teeming  population  of  Hindustan.  Brief 
as  was  the  occupation  of  most  of  this  immense  terri- 
tory, it  was  a stupendous  feat  of  acquisition.  He 
was  aided,  no  doubt,  by  the  dissensions  of  his  neigh- 
bours ; the  break-up  of  the  Samanid  kingdom  and  the 
divisions  of  the  Buwaihid  princes  in  Persia  opened  the 
road  to  annexation  in  the  west,  just  as  the  jealousies 
of  the  Indian  rajas  favoured  aggression  in  the  east. 
But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Persia  was  full  of 
Turkish  chiefs  of  the  same  warlike  temper  as  Mah- 
mud’s forefathers,  and  that  his  northern  frontier  was 


AfAHMUD  OF  GHAZNI 


33 


perpetually  menaced  by  the  vigorous  and  aggres- 
sive tribes  of  Central  Asia,  against  whom,  neverthe- 
less, he  was  always  able  to  hold  his  own.  When 
Ilak  Khan,  the  chief  of  the  Turks  on  the  laxartes, 
came  south  to  invade  Khurasan  in  ioo6  with  a great 
host  of  his  dreaded  horsemen,  Mahmud  did  not 
evade  the  shock.  He  led  his  army  in  person  against 
the  troopers  of  the  steppes,  and  after  bowing  to  the 
earth  in  prayer,  reciting  his  Muslim  ‘ Vatcr,  ich  rufe 
Dick'  which  he  never  forgot  before  a battle,  he 
mounted  his  elephant  and  smote  the  enemy  hip  and 
thigh  back  to  their  own  land. 

A great  soldier,  a man  of  infinite  courage  and  in- 
defatigable energy  of  mind  and  body,  Mahmud  was 
no  constructive  or  far-seeing  statesman.  We  hear  of 
no  laws  or  institutions  or  methods  of  government 
that  sprang  from  his  initiative.  Outward  order  and 
security  was  all  he  attempted  to  attain  in  his  un- 
wieldy empire;  to  organize  and  consolidate  was  not 
in  his  scheme.  He  left  his  dominions  so  ill  knitted 
together  that  they  began  to  fall  asunder  as  soon  as 
he  was  no  longer  alive  to  guard  them  by  his  vigilant 
activity.  But  so  long  as  he  lived  he  strove  to  gov- 
ern every  part  with  even  justice.  The  most  sagacious 
and  high-minded  Asiatic  statesman  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  famous  Seljuk  vezir  Nizam-al-mulk,  in  his 
treatise  on  the  art  of  government,  cites  many  anec- 
dotes of  Mahmud’s  conscientious  exercise  of  justice 
and  the  pains  he  took  to  protect  his  widely  scattered 
subjects.  ‘ Mahmud,’ wrote  the  great  vezir, ‘was  a 
just  sovereign,  a lover  of  learning,  a man  of  generous 
nature  and  of  pure  faith.’ 

3 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  MEN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 
GHAZNI  AND  GHOR 
1030-1206 

Gibbon  sums  up  the  history  of  Asiatic  dynas- 
ties as  ‘ one  unceasing  round  of  valour,  great- 
ness, discord,  degeneracy,  and  decay.’  We  have 
seen  the  valour  and  the  greatness  of  Mahmud  : the 
rest  was  soon  to  follow.  The  kingdom  he  founded 
endured  indeed  for  a century  and  a half  after  his 
death,  but  it  diminished  with  every  decade.  It  was 
not  so  much  the  result  of  the  ‘discord  and  degener- 
acy ’ of  his  successors,  though  discord  began  at  once 
in  the  rivalry  between  his  sons,  and  degeneracy  was 
shown  in  the  luxury  and  effeminacy  of  the  court. 
It  was  rather  the  inevitable  consequence  of  the  in- 
creasing pressure  of  the  western  Turks,  the  Ghuzz 
and  other  Turkman  clans  who  were  pouring  into 
the  pastures  of  Khurasan.  What  the  adventurers  of 
Ghazni  had  done,  others  of  the  same  bold  and  capa- 
ble race  might  also  achieve,  and  the  pastoral  Seljuks 
who  now  flocked  from  the  Oxus  lands  southward 


34 


MAHMUD'S  SUCCESSORS 


35 


into  Persia  were  led  by  chiefs  who  proved  themselves 
Mahmud’s  equals  in  generalship  and  his  superiors  in 
power  of  organization.  Their  history,  which  carried 
them  from  Samarkand  to  the  shores  of  the  yEgean, 
has  nothing  to  say  to  the  present  subject,  except  in 
so  far  as  their  brilliant  career  of  conquest  cut  off  all 
Mahmud’s  Persian  possessions  in  less  than  ten  years 
after  the  Idol-breaker  had  passed  away  from  the 
scene  of  his  triumphs.  By  1038  Tughril  Beg  the 
Seljuk  was  proclaimed  king  of  Khurasan,  and  when 
Mahmud’s  son,  Mas'ud,  at  last  awakened  to  the  dan- 
ger of  the  shepherd  clans  whose  presence  he  had  tol- 
erated within  his  borders,  marched  in  1040  to  subdue 
the  rebels,  he  was  utterly  defeated  at  Dandanakan 
near  Merv,  and  thenceforward  Persia  was  lost  to  the 
house  of  Ghazni. 

The  barrier  thus  set  up  on  the  west,  whilst  it 
bounded  the  ambitions  of  Mahmud’s  successors,  did 
not  immediately  throw  them  into  the  far  more  valu- 
able provinces  of  India.  They  continued  to  hold 
the  Panjab,  the  only  part  of  his  Indian  conquests 
that  was  permanently  annexed,  but  even  here  their 
authority  was  uncertain,  and  when  it  was  strongest 
under  a firm  governor  there  was  most  risk  of  separa- 
tion. A capable  Turkish  amir  who  had  witnessed 
the  successful  rise  of  other  Turks  in  Asia  was  likely 
to  be  tempted  to  convert  his  distant  Indian  province 
into  a kingdom.  Troubles  of  this  kind  began  very 
soon.  Mahmud  had  left  Ali  Ariyaruk  as  governor 
and  commander-in-chief  in  India.  Under  Mas'ud, 
this  viceroy’s  power  became  dangerous,  and  he  was 
allured  to  Ghazni,  where  his  numerous  following  of 


36 


MEDIJEVAL  INDIA 


truculent  retainers  confirmed  the  fears  of  the  court. 
Like  many  Turks,  Ariyaruk  had  a weakness  for 
drink,  which  proved  his  undoing.  The  wise  vezir, 
Khwaja  Ahmad  Hasan  Maimandi,  who  was  in  ori- 
ental phrase  ‘ a great  cucumber  ’ or  man  of  guile,  led 
the  unlucky  general  on ; the  king  sent  him  fifty 
flagons  of  wine  when  he  was  already  excited  ; the 
poor  wretch  staggered  into  the  court,  lured  on  by 
the  conspirators,  and  there  was  an  end  of  him. 

The  whole  miserable  tragedy  is  described  by  the 
garrulous  Baihaki,  the  chronicler  of  Mas'ud’s  court, 
with  the  vivid  touch  of  an  eyewitness.  Such  scenes 
were  not  uncommon  at  Ghazni,  where  zeal  for  the 
faith  was  often  combined  with  a reckless  disregard  of 
the  law  of  Islam  which  forbids  the  use  of  fermented 
liquor.  It  was  not  merely  that  the  soldiery  and 
their  officers  indulged  in  drunken  brawls;  the  sultan 
Mas'ud  himself  used  to  enjoy  regular  bouts  in  which 
he  triumphantly  saw  all  his  fellow  topers  ‘ under  the 
table.’  We  read  in  Baihaki’s  gossiping  memoirs  how 
‘ the  amir  ’ — the  Ghazni  king  adopted  this  title  like 
his  modern  representative  the  amir  of  Afghanistan — 
went  into  the  Firozi  Garden  and  sat  in  the  Green 
Pavilion  on  the  Golden  Plain,  where,  after  a sumptu- 
ous feast,  the  army  passed  before  him  in  review : 
first  the  star  of  the  crown  prince  Maudud,  next  the 
canopy  and  standards  borne  by  two  hundred  slaves 
of  the  household,  with  jerkins  of  mail  and  long 
spears ; then  many  led  horses  and  camels ; after 
which  the  infantry  in  their  order,  with  banners  and 
stars,  and  so  forth. 

When  they  had  all  passed  by,  the  serious  business 


THE  COURT  AT  GHAZNI 


37 


of  the  day  began*:  ‘ let  us  to  it  without  ceremony,’ 
cried  the  amir:  ‘we  are  come  into  the  country,  and 
we  will  drink.’  Fifty  goblets  and  flagons  of  wine 
were  brought  from  the  pavilion  into  the  garden,  and 
the  cups  began  to  go  round.  ‘ Fair  measure,’ said 
the  amir,  ‘and  equal  cups — let  us  drink  fair.’  They 
grew  merry  and  the  minstrels  sang.  One  of  the 
courtiers  had  finished  five  tankards  — each  held 
nearly  a pint  of  wine  — but  the  sixth  confused  him, 
the  seventh  bereft  him  of  his  senses,  and  at  the 
eighth  he  was  consigned  to  his  servants.  The  doc- 
tor was  carried  off  at  his  fifth  cup;  Khalil  Dawud 
managed  ten,  Siyabiruz  nine,  and  then  they  were 
taken  home ; everybody  rolled  or  was  rolled  away, 
till  only  the  sultan  and  the  Khwaja  Abd-ar-Razzak 
remained.  The  khwaja  finished  eighteen  goblets 
and  then  rose,  saying,  ‘ If  your  slave  has  any  more 
he  will  lose  both  his  wits  and  his  respect  for  your 
Majesty.’  Mas‘ud  w^ent  on  alone,  and  after  he  had 
drunk  twenty-seven  full  cups,  he  too  arose,  called 
for  water  and  prayer-carpet,  washed,  and  recited  the 
belated  noon  and  sunset  prayers  together  as  soberly 
as  if  he  had  not  tasted  a drop;  then  mounted  his 
elephant  and  rode  to  the  palace.  ‘ I witnessed  the 
whole  of  this  scene  with  mine  own  eyes,  I,  Abu-1- 
Fazl,’  says  Baihaki. 

Such  orgies  were  characteristic  of  the  Turkish  rul- 
ers of  Ghazni.  Even  the  great  Mahmud  had  his 
drinking  fits,  which  he  excused  on  the  ground  that 
they  afforded  a rest  to  his  people;  but  his  son 
Mas‘ud  carried  them  to  far  greater  excess.  Fortu- 
nately he  had  a remarkably  able  prime  minister  in 


38 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


Maimandi,  who  had  served  the  father  till  he  fell  under 
his  displeasure,  and  whom  the  son  released  from 
prison  and  restored  to  office  with  extraordinary 
marks  of  respect.  The  khwaja  (to  use  the  title 
given  to  the  vezirs  of  Ghazni,  though  the  word 
properly  means  a holy  man,  and  has  now  degener- 
ated to  nothing  more  respectable  than  ‘ Mr.’)  made 
his  formal  re-entrance  at  the  levee  at  noon,  after 
careful  consultation  with  the  astrologers,  who  deter- 
mined the  auspicious  hour.  He  was  dressed  in  scar- 
let cloth  of  Baghdad  embroidered  with  delicate 
flowers,  and  wore  a large  turban  of  the  finest  muslin 
bordered  with  lace,  a heavy  chain,  and  a girdle  weigh- 
ing a thousand  gold  pieces,  studded  with  turquoises. 
The  captain  of  the  guard,  sitting  at  the  door  of  the 
robing-room,  presented  him  according  to  custom 
with  a piece  of  gold,  a turban,  and  two  immense 
turquoises  set  in  a ring.  On  entering  the  presence, 
he  was  congratulated  by  the  amir,  and  kissing  the 
ground  offered  his  sovereign  a valuable  pendent  of 
pearls.  Then  Mas'ud  gave  him  the  signet  of  state, 
engraved  with  the  royal  seal,  ‘ that  the  people  may 
know,’  he  said,  ‘ that  the  khwaja’s  authority  is  next 
to  my  own.’  The  minister  kissed  hands,  bowed 
to  the  earth,  and  retired,  escorted  by  a splendid  reti- 
nue, and  all  the  world  hastened  to  congratulate  him 
and  make  him  presents.  Two  days  later  he  took  his 
seat  in  his  office.  A fine  cloth  of  brocade  set  with 
turquoises  was  spread  for  him,  and  on  it  he  knelt 
and  went  through  two  bowings  of  prayer ; then  call- 
ing for  ink,  paper,  and  sand,  he  wrote  in  Arabic  a 
sentence  of  thanksgiving.  All  that  day  till  nightfall 


THE  COURT  AT  GHAZNI 


39 


gifts  were  pouring  in  ; gold  and  silver,  rich  cloths, 
slaves  of  high  price,  pedigree  horses  and  camels — and 
all  were  dutifully  sent  on  to  the  amir,  who  marvelled 
why  the  khwaja  would  not  keep  them,  and  rewarded 
him  with  io,000  gold  pieces,  half  a million  of  silver 
from  the  treasury,  ten  Turkish  slaves,  four  horses 
from  the  royal  stable,  and  ten  camels. 

Meanwhile  the  minister  whom  he  had  superseded 
presented  the  reverse  of  the  glittering  shield.  Not 
only  disgraced,  Hasanak  was  accused  of  heresy,  and 
sent  to  the  scaffold.  Clad  in  nothing  but  his  turban 
and  trousers,  his  hands  clasped  together,  ‘his  body 
like  shining  silver,  his  face  a picture,’  he  calmly  faced 
his  doom.  All  men  wept  for  him  and  none  would 
cast  the  fatal  stones.  The  executioner  spared  him 
the  indignity  of  lapidation  by  a friendly  noose.  The 
fallen  vezir’s  head  was  served  up  in  a dish  at  a feast, 
to  the  horror  of  the  guests;  his  body  hung  seven 
years  on  the  gibbet ; but  his  mother,  weeping  be- 
neath, cried  aloud  in  bitter  irony,  ‘ What  good  for- 
tune was  my  son’s!  Such  a king  as  Mahmud  gave 
him  this  world,  and  such  a one  as  Mas'ud  the  next ! ’ 

Such  pictures  of  life  at  Ghazni  are  valuable  for 
the  history  of  India,  since  it  was  on  the  model  of 
Mahmud  and  his  successors  that  the  later  courts  of 
Lahore,  Agra,  and  Delhi  were  formed.  It  would  be 
a mistake,  however,  to  measure  Mas'ud  by  his  luxury 
and  revels.  He  was  no  fainc^ant  son  of  his  great 
father.  His  generosity  won  him  the  name  of  ‘the 
second  Ali,’  and  he  was  so  brave  that  they  called 
him  ‘ another  Rustam,’  after  the  famous  hero  of  the 
‘Shah  Nama.’  His  father  envied  his  strength,  and 


40 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


it  was  said  that  he  could  fell  an  elephant  at  a blow. 
No  other  man  could  wield  his  battle-axe.  He  ex- 
celled, moreover,  as  a patron  of  letters,  and  was 
himself  an  architect  of  skill,  who  adorned  his  country 
with  noble  buildings.  He  also  took  a prudent  in- 
terest in  his  Indian  possessions,  and  personally 
interfered  in  the  management  of  the  Panjab.  The 
vicero}^  who  succeeded  Ariyaruk  proved  even  more 
ambitious.  This  Ahmad  Niyaltagin  had  been  Mah- 
mud’s treasurer  and  had  accompanied  him  on  all  his 
journeys  and  knew  the  ways  and  plans  of  the  late 
king.  They  called  him  Mahmud’s  ‘ sneeze  ’ or  alter 
ego.  On  his  appointment  as  governor  of  Hindustan 
he  was  instructed  by  the  vezir  Maimandi  not  to  med- 
dle with  political  or  revenue  matters,  which  belonged 
to  the  function  of  Kazi  Shiraz,  the  civil  administrator, 
but  to  keep  to  the  duties  of  commander-in-chief. 
Resides  these  military  and  civil  governors,  there 
was  the  head  of  the  intelligence  department  to 
whom  all  orders  from  the  sultan  and  ministers  were 
sent  and  who  reported  everything  that  occurred  to 
his  master.  ‘You  two  must  not  give  trouble  to  the 
court,’  continued  the  khwaja,  ‘ what  you  have  to 
write  to  me  must  be  stated  in  detail  in  order  to 
receive  a distinct  reply.  His  Majesty  thinks  it  ad- 
visable to  send  with  you  some  of  the  Dailami  chiefs, 
to  remove  them  to  a distance  from  the  court,  since 
they  are  foreigners  ; and  also  some  suspected  persons 
and  refractory  slaves.  Whenever  j'ou  go  on  a cam- 
paign you  must  take  them  with  you,  but  be  careful 
that  they  do  not  mingle  with  the  army  of  Lahore, 
and  let  them  not  drink  wine  or  play  polo.  Keep 


THE  INDIAN  EDO  VINCE 


41 


spies  and  informers  to  watch  them,  and  never  neglect 
this  duty.  These  be  the  king’s  secret  orders,  not  to 
be  divulged.’  To  retain  a hold  on  the  new  viceroy, 
his  son  was  detained  as  a hostage. 

In  spite  of  all  these  counsels,  Niyaltagin  quickly 
fell  out  with  his  civil  colleague,  and  complaints 
reached  Ghazni.  Full  of  the  example  of  his  old 
master,  he  was  not  content  with  managing  a mere 
province,  but  copied  the  Idol-breaker’s  daring  raids, 
and  actually  surprised  Benares.  No  Mohammedan 
army  had  ever  before  pushed  so  far  east,  and  the 
great  city  on  the  Ganges  with  its  forest  of  temples 
was  a splendid  prize.  The  invaders  did  not  dare  .to 
hold  it  more  than  a few  hours,  lest  they  should  be 
overwhelmed  by  the  Hindus,  and  before  midday 
they  had  plundered  the  markets  and  got  off  scot 
free  with  an  immense  booty.  Niyaltagin  was  sus- 
pected of  still  more  daring  schemes ; he  was  said  to 
be  buying  Turkish  slaves  secretly,  and  gave  himself 
out  as  a son  of  sultan  Mahmud.  Not  only  was  the 
army  of  Lahore  devoted  to  him,  but  the  Turkmans 
and  adventurers  of  all  sorts  were  flocking  to  his 
standard.  The  policy  of  sending  suspected  and  dis- 
orderly persons  to  India  was  bearing  fruit.  In  short 
everything  was  ripe  for  rebellion,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1033  news  came  that  the  viceroy  was  in  open 
revolt,  the  kazi  shut  up  in  a fort,  and  all  was  turmoil 
and  bloodshed. 

To  restore  order  Mas'ud  appointed  Tilak  the 
Hindu  to  take  over  the  command  in  the  Panjab. 
The  other  generals  showed  themselves  backward  in 
volunteering  for  the  dangerous  task,  and  Tilak’s 


42 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


eager  bid  for  the  command  pleased  the  sultan.  The 
fact  that  a Hindu  should  have  attained  such  a posi- 
tion shows  how  far  the  process  of  assimilation  be- 
tween the  Turks  and  the  Indians  had  already  gone. 
Tilak  was  the  son  of  a barber,  a good-looking,  plausi- 
ble fellow,  eloquent  of  speech,  a fluent  writer  both 
in  Hindi  and  Persian,  and  a master  of  dissimulation, 
which  he  had  studied  under  the  best  professors  in 
Kashmir,  the  home  of  lies.  He  is  also  described  as 
‘ proficient  in  amours  and  witchcraft,’  and  everyone 
was  in  love  with  him.  He  gained  a great  influence 
over  Mas'ud,  who  set  him  over  the  Indian  troops, 
and  he  was  equally  intimate  with  the  khwaja,  who 
made  him  his  confidential  secretary  and  interpreter. 
He  was  granted  the  distinction  of  a state  tent  and 
parasol,  kettledrums  were  beaten  at  his  quarters, 
after  the  Hindu  fashion,  and  his  banners  had  gilt 
cusps. 

This  Hindu  paragon  set  out  to  chastise  Niyaltagin. 
Matters  were  going  badly  and  there  was  anxiety  at 
Ghazni.  The  Seljuks  were  beginning  to  cause  serious 
alarm  in  the  west,  and  a battle  had  been  lost  at  Kar- 
man  in  the  eastern  hills,  where  the  sultan’s  Hindu 
troops,  who  formed  half  the  cavalry,  had  behaved  like 
poltroons  and  fled  the  field.  When  they  came  back, 
Mas'ud  shut  their  officers  up  in  the  chancery,  where 
six  of  them  committed  suicide  with  their  daggers. 
‘They  should  have  used  those  daggers  at  Karman,’ 
said  the  sultan.  At  last  the  news  came  that  the  bar- 
ber’s son  had  routed  Niyaltagin,  and  that  the  Jats  had 
caught  the  fugitive  viceroy  and  cut  off  his  head,  which 
they  sold  to  Tilak  for  a hundred  thousand  pieces  of 


THE  INDIAN  PROVINCE 


43 


silver.  The  elated  sultan  vowed  that  he  would  him- 
self go  to  India  and  take  the  fort  of  Hansi,  which  he 
had  once  before  attacked.  The  ministers  in  vain  tried 
to  dissuade  him,  urging  the  troubles  in  other  parts 
of  his  empire.  If  the  Seljuks  should  conquer  Khu- 
rasan, or  take  even  a village  there,  they  argued,  ‘ ten 
Holy  Wars  at  Hansi  would  not  compensate.’  But 
he  was  immovable.  ‘ The  vow  is  upon  my  back,’  he 
said,  ‘ and  accomplish  it  I will.’ 

Leaving  the  khwaja  as  his  deputy,  and  appointing 
Prince  Maudud  viceroy  at  Balkh,  the  sultan  set  out 
for  India  by  way  of  Kabul  in  November,  1034. 
Falling  ill  on  the  road,  he  determined  to  renounce 
wine,  threw  all  the  liquor  he  had  into  the  Jehlam, 
and  broke  his  flagons.  No  drinking  was  allowed 
throughout  the  army.  How  slight  was  the  hold  of 
the  Muslims  on  Hindustan  may  be  realized  from  the 
fact  that  the  march  to  Hansi  (about  two  thirds  of 
the  distance  from  Lahore  to  Delhi)  was  regarded  as 
a dangerous  adventure.  The  fortress  made  a des- 
perate resistance,  but  was  mined  in  five  places,  and 
stormed  at  the  sword’s  point  at  the  beginning  of 
February.  The  priests  and  officers  were  killed,  and 
the  women,  children,  and  treasure  carried  to  Ghazni. 
Returning  through  deep  snow,  Mas'ud  kept  the 
New  Year’s  spring  festival  at  home,  and  amply  re- 
paid himself  for  his  abstinence  on  the  march. 

The  state  of  aflairs  on  his  return  showed  that  the 
campaign  with  its  insignificant  result  had  been  a 
mistake.  The  ministers  had  been  right  in  urging 
him  to  go  west  instead  of  east.  Khurasan  was  rap- 
idly falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Seljuks;  western 


44 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


Persia  was  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Ghazni ; the 
empire  was  breaking  up.  Mas‘ud  attempted  too 
late  to  stem  the  tide.  His  generals  were  defeated, 
and  his  own  last  despairing  effort  near  Merv  in  1040, 
as  has  been  related,  ended  in  utter  rout.  In  a panic 
he  prepared  to  fly  to  India  before  the  terror  of  a 
Seljuk  invasion.  The  treasures  were  packed  up, 
the  court  and  the  harim  were  equipped  for  the 
journey,  and  the  whole  army  left  Ghazni.  As  he 
crossed  the  Indus,  the  dishonoured  prince  was  seized 
by  mutineers,  who  set  his  brother  on  the  throne  — 
the  brother  he  had  blinded  on  his  own  accession, — 
and  after  a brief  captivity  in  the  fort  of  Kiri,  Mas'ud 
was  done  to  death  in  1040.  ‘ Let  wise  men  reflect 

upon  this,’  concludes  Baihaki,  ‘and  be  well  assured 
that  man  by  mere  labour  and  effort,  notwithstanding 
all  the  wealth  and  arms  and  warlike  stores  he  may 
possess,  can  in  no  wise  succeed  without  the  help  of 
God  Most  High.  . . . “Man  cannot  strive  against 
fate.”  This  prince  spared  no  effort,  and  gathered 
vast  armies.  Though  he  was  one  who  thought  for 
himself  and  spent  sleepless  nights  in  devising  plans, 
his  affairs  came  to  nought  by  the  decree  of  the  Al- 
mighty. God  knoweth  best.’ 

The  hasty  flight  to  India  was  premature.  The 
Seljuks  were  busy  in  subduing  Persia,  and  left 
Ghazni  undisturbed  ; thither,  after  a while,  Mas'ud’s 
son  returned  with  the  army,  and  for  more  than  a 
century  the  Ghaznawids,  as  his  descendants  are 
called,  dwelt  in  their  mountain  city  with  gradually 
decaying  power.  Their  names  and  dates  are  given 
in  the  table  at  the  end  of  this  volume,  but  their  in- 


DECA  V OF  GHAZNI 


45 


dividual  reigns  are  of  little  importance  for  the  history 
of  India.  They  are  described  as  men  of  benevolent 
character  and  signal  piety;  and  some  of  them,  such 
as  Ibrahim,  devoted  themselves  to  the  improvement 
and  good  government  of  their  subjects.  The  fact 
that  Ibrahim  and  Bahrain  sat  on  the  throne,  the 
one  for  over  forty,  the  other  for  thirty-five  years, 
shows  that  there  was  peace  and  stability,  at  least 
in  the  central  government. 

But  peace  was  purchased  at  the  cost  of  power. 
The  later  kings  of  Ghazni,  learning  by  a series  of  de- 
feats that  their  western  neighbours  were  not  to  be 
trifled  with,  made  terms  with  the  Seljuks  and  allied 
the  two  dynasties  by  politic  marriages;  thus  Ghazni 
fell  from  the  proud  position  of  the  capital  of  a king- 
dom to  little  more  than  a dependency  of  the  empire 
of  Malik  Shah.  The  fratricidal  struggles,  which 
were  a common  feature  of  Ghaznawid  successions, 
even  brought  these  dangerous  neighbours  into  the 
mountains,  and  in  Iii6  we  find  the  Seljuk  Sanjar  in 
temporary  possession  of  Ghazni  as  the  protector  of 
Bahrain  against  his  brother  Arslan  Shah. 

There  was  little  danger,  however,  of  the  enemy 
settling  permanently  in  the  Afghan  country.  There 
was  more  attractive  land  to  the  west,  and  a dynasty 
that  had  spread  its  dividing  branches  to  the  Medi- 
terranean and  Damascus  was  not  likely  to  be  enam- 
oured of  the  crags  and  glades  beneath  the  Hindu 
Kush.  So  long  as  the  kings  of  Ghazni  preserved  an 
attitude  of  decorous  deference,  there  was  little  fear 
of  Seljuk  aggression.  Nor  was  there  much  danger 
of  reprisals  from  the  side  of  India.  An  army  of 


46 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


80,000  Hindus  did  indeed  seize  Lahore  in  1043  I 6ut 
the  enemy  hastily  withdrew  on  the  approach  of  the 
forces  of  Ghazni.  The  terror  of  Mahmud’s  cam- 
paigns had  left  too  crushing  an  impression  to  permit 
the  Indians  to  dream  of  serious  retaliation.  The 
Panjab  remained  a Muslim  province,  and  a century 
later  became  the  last  refuge  of  Mahmud’s  de- 
scendants. 

The  force  that  uprooted  the  Ghaznawids  came 
neither  from  the  east  nor  from  the  west.  It  grew 
up  in  their  midst.  In  the  rugged  hills  of  Ghor,  be- 
tween Ghazni  and  Herat,  stood  the  castle  of  Firoz- 
koh,  the  ‘ Hill  of  Victory,’  where  a bold  race  of 
Afghan  highlanders  followed  the  banner  of  the  chief 
of  Sur.  The  castle  had  submitted  to  Mahmud  in 
1010,  but  the  conqueror  left  the  native  chief  in  tribu- 
tory  possession,  and  the  Suri  horsemen  eagerly  took 
the  sultan’s  pay  and  fought  in  his  campaigns  against 
the  infidels.  These  fiery  hillmen  respected  the  great 
soldier,  but  for  his  weak  successors  they  cared  little, 
and  feared  them  less.  A conflict  was  brought  about 
by  the  death  of  one  of  the  Suri  chiefs  at  the  hands 
of  Bahram  Shah.  The  highlanders  of  Ghor  marched 
to  avenge  his  murder,  and  their  rude  vigour  so  over- 
mastered the  troops  of  Ghazni,  enfeebled  by  a cent- 
ury of  inglorious  ease,  that  Bahram  and  his  army 
were  driven  pell-mell  into  India  (i  148).  It  is  true  he 
returned  with  fresh  forces  in  the  winter,  when  snow 
cut  of!  the  usurpers  from  their  headquarters  in  Ghor, 
but  the  vengeance  he  took  upon  the  intruders  and 
the  execution  of  their  leader  only  heated  the  fury  of 
the  chief  of  Firoz-koh. 


THE  MEN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 


47 


Two  brothers  of  the  princely  race  of  Sur  had  now 
successively  been  slain  by  the  king  of  Ghazni:  a 
third  brother  avenged  them.  In  1155  Ala-ad-din 
Husain,  reprobated  for  all  time  by  the  title  of 
‘World-burner’  (Jahan-soz),  burst  into  Ghazni  on  a 
wave  of  slaughter  and  destruction,  slew  the  men 
without  mercy,  enslaved  the  women  and  children, 
and  carried  fire  and  sword  throughout  the  land.  Of 
all  the  noble  buildings  with  which  the  kings  had  en- 
riched their  stately  capital  hardly  a stone  was  left  to 
tell  of  its  grandeur.  The  very  graves  of  the  hated 
dynasty  were  dug  up  and  the  royal  bones  scattered 
to  the  curs  — but  even  Afghan  vengeance  spared  the 
tomb  of  Mahmud,  the  idol  of  Muslim  soldiers.  That 
tomb  and  two  lofty  minarets,  at  a little  distance  from 
the  modern  town,  alone  stand  to  show  that  Ghazni 
was.  On  one  of  the  minarets  one  may  still  read  the 
resonant  titles  of  the  Idol-breaker,  and  on  the  mar- 
ble tombstone  an  inscription  entreats  ‘ God’s  mercy 
for  the  great  Amir  Mahmud.’ 

India  was  now  to  witness  something  very  like  a 
repetition  of  his  swift  irresistible  raids.  For  more 
than  a century  there  had  been,  if  not  peace,  at  least 
little  war.  The  later  kings  of  Ghazni  had  been  mild 
unambitious  rulers,  and  had  left  the  Panjab  very 
much  to  itself.  Probably  their  Hindu  troops  and 
Hindu  officials  had  to  some  extent  Indianated  them, 
and  the  last  descendants  of  Mahmud  made  their 
home  at  Lahore  without  difficulty.  The  attempt  of 
Bahram’s  son,  Khusru  Shah,  to  recover  the  command 
in  Afghanistan  utterly  failed  ; he  found  Ghazni  and 
the  other  towns  in  ruins,  the  tribes  disloyal,  and  the 


48 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Ghuzz  Turkmans  overrunning  the  land.  The  com- 
paratively orderly  rule  of  the  kings  of  Ghazni  had 
given  place  to  anarchy,  and  so  it  remained  for  many 
3’ears.  Ala-ad-din  the  ‘ World-burner  ’ was  content 
to  rule  his  clan  at  Firoz-koh  ; but  after  his  death  in 
I i6i,  and  that  of  his  son  two  years  later,  his  nephew 
Ghiyas-ad-din  son  of  Sam  became  chief  of  Ghor,  and 


COIN  OF  GHIYAS-AD-DIN,  SHOWING  SPEARMAN  ON  ELEPHANT. 

with  his  accession  the  Afghan  highlanders  entered 
upon  a new  phase  of  activity.  Ghiyas-ad-din  re- 
covered Ghazni  from  the  mob  of  Ghuzz  in  1 173-4, 
and  established  his  brother  Mu‘izz-ad-din  on  the 
ruined  throne  of  Mahmud.  The  two  brothers  exer- 
cised a joint  sovereignty,  but  whilst  the  elder  main- 
tained his  hereditary  chiefdom  in  his  forefathers’ 
castle  of  the  ‘ Hill  of  Victory,’  Mu‘izz-ad-din,  com- 
monly known  as  Mohammad  Ghori,  led  a series  of 
campaigns  in  India  which  recalled  the  glorious  days 
of  the  Idol-breaker  nearly  two  centuries  before. 
Thirty  years  had  Mahmud  ravaged  Hindustan  from 
the  Indus  to  the  Ganges;  and  for  thirty  years 
Mohammad  Ghori  harried  the  same  country  in  the 
same  way. 

His  first  object  was  to  gather  the  Mohammedan 


MOHAMMAD  GHORI 


49 


provinces  of  India  under  his  control.  He  began  with 
the  old  Arab  colony  on  the  Indus,  took  Multan  in 
1 175  from  the  heretical  Karmathians,  whom  Mahmud 
had  but  temporarily  dislodged,  marched  thence  to 
Anhalwara  in  1 178,  and  by  1182  he  had  subdued  the 
whole  of  Sind  down  to  Daibul  and  the  sea-coast. 
Meanwhile  his  armies  had  not  left  the  exiled  king  of 
Ghazni  undisturbed.  Peshawar  was  taken  in  1179, 
and  Khusru  Malik,  the  last  of  the  Ghaznawids,  a 
feeble  gentle  soul,  utterly  unequal  to  the  task  of 
mastering  the  anarchy  which  was  ruining  the  rem- 
nant of  his  fathers’  kingdom,  hastened  to  give  his 
son  as  a hostage  and  to  offer  deprecatory  presents 
to  the  invader.  The  final  catastrophe  was  thus 
delayed  for  a few  years.  In  1184,  however,  Moham- 
mad Ghori  ravaged  the  territory  of  Lahore  and  forti- 
fied Sialkot.  This  was  coming  to  close  quarters,  and 
the  king  in  desperation  called  in  the  help  of  the 
Gakkars  and  laid  siege  to  the  fortress.  The  Ghorian 
outmanoeuvred  him  by  a trick,  and  getting  between 
Khusru  and  his  capital  compelled  him  to  surrender 
(1185  or  1186).  The  prisoner  and  his  son  were 
taken  to  Firoz-koh,  and  confined  in  a fort,  where 
after  five  years  the  last  of  the  Ghaznawids  were 
put  to  death. 

Mohammad  Ghori  had  thus  rid  himself  of  all 
Muslim  rivals  in  India:  he  could  now  turn  to  the 
Hindus.  From  the  accounts  of  the  Persian  histori- 
ans it  is  clear  that  the  process  of  assimilation  which 
had  been  going  on  between  the  Turkish  conquerors 
and  the  subject  Hindus  was  now  checked.  The 
policy  of  employing  native  Indian  regiments  was 


50 


MEDIjV.VAL  INDIA 


abandoned,  and  the  new  invaders,  Afghan  Muslims, 
numerously  supported  by  Turks,  were  full  of  relig- 
ious zeal  and  eager  to  send  the  ‘ grovelling  crow-faced 
Hindus  to  the  fire  of  hell.’  Mohammad’s  first  step 
was  to  seize  and  garrison  Sirhind.  This  brought 
upon  him  the  whole  force  of  the  Rajputs,  led  by 
Prithwi  Raja,  the  chief  of  the  Chohan  dynasty  that 
had  succeeded  the  Tomaras  in  Delhi  and  Ajmir. 
This  was  a different  kind  of  enemy  from  those  the 
Afghans  had  been  accustomed  to  meet.  They  were 
well  acquainted  with  the  modes  of  fighting  of  the 
Seljuks  and  other  Turks  of  the  Oxus  land,  but  in 
the  Rajputs  they  encountered  a soldiery  second  to 
none  in  the  world,  a race  of  born  fighters  who  fought 
to  the  death,  many  of  whose  principalities  never 
submitted  in  more  than  name  to  Muslim  rule.  They 
formed  the  military  caste  of  the  ancient  Hindu  sys- 
tem, and  preserved  their  old  feudal  system. 

‘Each  division,’  as  Elphinstone  remarks,  ‘had  its 
hereditary  leader,  and  each  formed  a separate  com- 
munity, like  clans  in  other  countries,  the  members 
of  which  were  bound  by  many  ties  to  their  chief  and 
to  each  other.  As  the  chiefs  of  those  clans  stood  in 
the  same  relation  to  the  raja  as  their  own  retainers 
did  to  them,  the  king,  nobilitj’,  and  soldiery  all  made 
one  body,  united  by  the  strongest  feelings  of  kindred 
and  military  devotion.  The  sort  of  feudal  system 
that  prevailed  among  the  Rajputs  gave  additional 
stability  to  this  attachment,  and  all  together  pro- 
duced the  pride  of  birth,  the  high  spirit,  and  the 
romantic  notions  so  striking  in  the  military  class  of 
that  period.  Their  enthusiasm  was  kept  up  by  the 


MOHAMMAD  C II OKI 


51 


songs  of  their  bards,  and  inflamed  by  frequent  con- 
tests for  glory  or  for  love.  They  treated  women 
with  a respect  unusual  in  the  East,  and  were  guided, 
even  towards  their  enemies,  by  rules  of  honour 
which  it  was  disgraceful  to  violate.’  With  much  of 
the  chivalry,  they  had  not  the  artificial  sentiment  of 
the  knights  of  the  ‘ Faerie  Queene,’  and,  save  for 
their  native  indolence,  they  resembled  rather  the 
heroes  of  the  Homeric  poems,  or  of  their  own  ‘ Mahab- 
harata,’  than  those  of  the  Round  Table.  No  doubt 
they  had  degenerated  in  a long  period  of  inglorious 
obscurity,  but  what  the  Rajputs  are  in  the  present  day 
may  teach  us  that  in  the  twelfth  century  they  were 
a brilliant  and  formidable  array. 

Mohammad  Ghori’s  first  encounter  with  the  Raj- 
puts was  like  to  have  been  his  last.  The  two  armies 
met  in  iigi  at  Narain,  ten  miles  north  of  Karnal,  on 
another  part  of  the  great  plain  which  includes  the 
historic  field  of  Panipat,  and  on  which  the  fate  of 
India  has  been  decided  again  and  again.  All  the 
dash  of  the  Muslim  cavalry  was  powerless  against 
the  Hindus.  The  Afghan  charges  were  met  by  skil- 
ful flanking  movements,  and  the  sultan  found  him- 
self cut  off  from  his  shattered  wings  and  hemmed  in 
by  Rajput  squadrons.  He  tried  to  save  the  day  by 
personal  gallantry,  charged  up  to  the  standard  of  the 
raja’s  brother,  the  viceroy  of  Delhi,  and  with  his 
spear  drove  his  teeth  down  his  throat ; but  his 
rash  exposure  nearly  cost  him  his  life,  and  he  was 
only  saved  by  the  devotion  of  a Khalji  retainer 
who  mounted  behind  him  and  carried  him  off  the 
field.  The  sultan’s  retirement  led  to  a panic.  The 


52 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


Muslims  were  soon  in  full  retreat,  pursued  for  forty 
miles  by  the  enemy,  and  Mohammad  did  not  even 
stop  at  Lahore,  but  hastened  to  cross  the  Indus  into 
his  own  country.  Never  had  the  armies  of  Islam 
been  so  worsted  by  the  infidels. 


FORT  OF  AJMIR. 

The  sultan  could  not  forget  the  disaster.  At 
Ghazni,  he  confessed,  ‘ he  never  slumbered  in  ease 
nor  waked  but  in  sorrow  and  anxiety.’  The  next 
year  saw  him  again  in  India,  at  the  head  of  120,000 
men,  Afghans,  Turks,  and  Persians.  Prithwi  Raja 
had  taken  Sirhind,  after  a year’s  siege,  and  awaited 
his  enemy  on  the  same  field  of  Narain.  The  sultan 


THE  RAJPUTS 


53 


had  profited  by  his  former  lesson.  His  cavalry  in 
four  divisions  of  ten  thousand  each  harassed  the 
Rajputs  on  all  sides,  and  when  he  found  their 
famous  soldiery  still  unbroken  he  lured  them  to  dis- 
order by  a feigned  retreat.  Then,  taking  them  at  a 
disadvantage,  he  charged  at  the  head  of  twelve  thou- 
sand picked  horsemen  in  steel  armour,  and  ‘this 
prodigious  army  once  shaken,  like  a great  building, 
tottered  to  its  fall  and  was  lost  in  its  own  ruins.’ 
Many  of  the  Rajput  chiefs  were  killed  in  the  battle. 
Prithwi  Raja  himself  mounted  a horse  and  fled,  but 
was  captured  near  Sirsuti  and  ‘ sent  to  hell.’ 

The  result  of  this  victory  was  the  annexation  of 
Ajmir,  Hansi,  and  Sirsuti,  ruthless  slaughter  and  a 
general  destruction  of  temples  and  idols  and  build- 
ing of  mosques  (1192).  Ajmir  was  left  in  charge 
of  a son  of  the  late  raja,  as  a vassal  of  the  sultan, 
and  Kutb-ad-din  Aybek,  a slave  of  Mohammad 
Ghori,  was  appointed  viceroy  of  India,  where  after 
his  master’s  death  he  founded  the  Kingdom  of 
Delhi.  There  was  much,  however,  to  be  done  be- 
fore there  could  be  any  talk  of  kingship.  Delhi  and 
Koil  indeed  fell  before  the  attacks  of  Kutb-ad-din  the 
same  year,  but  beyond  them  lay  the  dominions  of 
the  powerful  Rathors,  who  had  become  rajas  of  Ka- 
nauj  on  the  downfall  of  the  Tomaras.  Mohammad, 
returning  from  Ghazni,  himself  led  the  campaign 
against  them  in  the  following  year,  and,  after  a 
crushing  defeat  on  the  Jumna  betv/een  Chandwar 
and  Etawa,  the  Rathors  fled  south  to  found  a new 
principality  at  Marwar,  and  Kanauj  and  Benares  be- 
came part  of  the  empire  of  Ghor.  The  Muslims 


54 


MEDIAZVAL  INDIA 


were  now  in  Bihar,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they 
found  their  way  into  Bengal.  Whilst  Kutb-ad-din 
was  reducing  the  cities  further  west,  another  general, 
Mohammad  Bakhtiyar,  pushed  his  way  to  Oudh  and 
on  to  Lakhnauti,  then  the  capital  of  Bengal,  and 
thus  brought  the  extreme  east  of  Hindustan  under 
Muslim  rule. 

Meanwhile  the  sultan  or  his  viceroy  had  con- 
quered, if  they  had  not  subdued,  the  greater  part  of 
northern  India.  Gwaliar,  Badaun,  Kalpi,  Kalinjar, 
Anhalwara,  had  fallen,  and  if  Mohammad  had 
been  content  with  an  Indian  empire  he  might  have 
enjoyed  his  wish.  But  the  kings  of  Ghazni  were 
ever  looking  backward  towards  the  west,  where  Mah- 
mud had  held  so  vast  a sway.  Tradition  led  them 
to  long  for  the  orchards  and  fat  pastures  of  the 
Oxus  and  the  rich  cities  and  luxury  of  Persia.  The 
wealth  of  India  could  not  satisfy  these  hungry 
hillmen.  Mohammad  Ghori  must  needs  invade 
Khwarizm,  the  modern  Khiva,  where  his  momentary 
success  was  followed  by  such  disastrous  defeat  that 
he  burned  his  baggage,  purchased  his  bare  life,  and 
fled  (1203).  Such  an  overthrow  means  anarchy  in 
an  oriental  state.  Everywhere  the  tribes  and  gov- 
ernors rose  in  revolt.  Ghazni  shut  its  gates  in  its 
sultan’s  face,  Multan  proclaimed  a new  king,  the 
Gakkars  seized  Lahore  and  laid  waste  the  Panjab  ; 
the  wide  dominion  of  the  house  of  Ghor  broke 
asunder.  The  recovery  of  his  shattered  kingdom 
was  Mohammad’s  greatest  feat.  Kutb-ad-din  re- 
mained true  to  him,  and  so  did  several  cities  held  by 
the  sultan’s  kindred.  Mohammad  swept  down  upon 


MOHAMMAD  GHORI 


55 


Multan  and  regained  it  ; Ghazni  repented  ; the  Gak- 
kars  were  subdued  and  even  nominally  converted. 
But  conversion  did  not  wipe  out  the  blood-feud,  and 
when  the  sultan  set  out  once  more  to  gather  forces 
for  another  effort  to  realize  his  useless  dream  of 
western  empire,  he  was  murdered  in  his  tent  beside 


SILVER  COIN  OF  MOHAMMAD  GHORI,  STRUCK  AT  GHAZNI, 
A.H.  596  (A.D.  1199). 


the  Indus  by  a band  of  Gakkars  who  had  the  deaths 
of  their  kinsfolk  to  avenge  (1206). 

Compared  with  Mahmud,  the  name  of  Moham- 
mad Ghori  has  remained  almost  obscure.  He  was 
no  patron  of  letters,  and  no  poets  or  historians  vied 
with  one  another  to  praise  his  munificence  and 
power.  Yet  his  conquests  in  Hindustan  were  wider 
and  far  more  permanent  than  Mahmud’s.  A large 
part  of  these  conquests  were  of  course  partial,  and 
there  were  still  revolts  to  be  crushed  and  chiefs  to 
be  subdued  : India  was  not  to  be  subjugated  in  a 
generation.  But  the  conquest  was  real  and  perma- 
nent, and  though  Mohammad  was  no  Indian  sov- 
ereign, but  still  king  of  Ghazni  with  eyes  turned 
towards  Persia  and  the  Oxus,  he  left  a viceroy  in 
Hindustan  who  began  the  famous  Slave  dynasty, 


56 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  first  of  the  many  Muslim  kings  that  have  ruled 
India. 

Of  the  two  tides  of  Mohammedan  invasion  that 
surged  into  India,  Mahmud’s  had  left  little  trace. 
It  had  been  but  a series  of  triumphant  raids,  and 
when  its  violence  was  spent  scarcely  enough 
strength  remained  to  hold  a single  province.  That 
province  however  had  been  held,  not  without  a 
struggle,  and  in  the  Panjab  Mohammad  Ghori  found 
the  7COV  0t(2),  the  necessary  leverage,  whence  to 
bear  upon  a wider  territory  than  his  precursor.  He 
rose  from  even  smaller  beginnings  than  Mahmud, 
but  his  followers  possessed  the  same  hardihood  and 
power  of  endurance  as  the  earlier  invaders  from  the 
same  mountain  valleys,  and  they  carried  their  arms 
further  and  left  surer  footprints.  The  dynasty  of 
Ghor  relapsed  into  the  insignificance  of  a highland 
chiefdom  after  its  great  sultan’s  death ; but  the 
dominion  it  had  conquered  in  India  was  not  lost  to 
Islam.  It  was  consolidated  under  other  rulers,  and 
from  the  days  of  Mohammad  Ghori  to  the  catas- 
trophy  of  the  Indian  mutiny  there  was  always  a 
Mohammedan  king  upon  the  throne  of  Delhi. 


BOOK  II 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  DELHI 

1206-1526 


57 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  SLAVE  KINGS 
THE  TURKS  IN  DELHI 
1 206- 1 290 

At  length  in  1206  India  had  a Mohammedan 
king  of  its  own,  ruling  not  from  an  outside 
capital  but  in  India  itself.  Mohammad  Ghori’s  vice- 
roy Aybek  was  the  first  of  the  thirty-four  Muslim 
kings  who  ruled  at  Delhi  from  the  beginning  of  the 
thirteenth  century  to  the  invasion  of  Babar  in  1526. 
These  thirty-four  kings  fall  into  five  successive  dy- 
nasties. First  came  the  Slave  Kings,  descended  from 
Aybek  the  slave  of  Ghori,  or  from  Aybek’s  slaves  ^ 
these  were  all  Turks.  Next  followed  the  Khaljis, 
probably  Turks  in  origin  but  essentially  Afghans  in 
association  and  character.  The  third  was  the  Turk- 
ish house  of  Taghlak.  The  irruption  of  Timur,  who 
burst  into  India  in  1398,  put  an  end  to  the  domina- 
tion of  the  Taghlak  princes,  and  broke  up  the  King- 
dom of  Delhi;  but  the  dynasty  of  the  Sayyids  or 
‘nobles’ — so  called  because,  though  natives  of  India, 
they  claimed  Arabian  descent  from  the  family  of  the 


59 


6o 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Prophet  Mohammad  — assumed  authority  at  the 
capital.  The  fifth  dynasty  was  that  of  the  Afghan 
Lodis,  who  held  what  remained  of  the  kingdom 
until  defeated  by  the  Emperor  Babar  on  the  fatal 
field  of  Panipat. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  these  three  centuries  of 
predominant  Turkish  rule  in  India  we  shall  have 
little  to  say  about  anything  but  a few  conspicuous 
men.  History  in  the  East  does  not  mean  the  growth 
of  constitutions,  tke  development  of  civic  ‘rights,’ 
the  vindication  of  individual  liberty,  or  the  evolution 
of  self-government.  These  are  Western  ideas  which 
have  no  meaning  in  India.  If  translated  into  Hin- 
dustani they  represent  nothing  that  the  natural 
Hindu  comprehends  or  desires.  The  European  as- 
sumption that  every  man  is  more  or  less  competent 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  government  is  flatly  denied  in 
the  East.  The  Western  panacea  of  self-government 
possesses  no  attraction  to  the  unsophisticated  ori- 
ental. To  the  Indian,  power  is  a divine  gift,  to  be 
exercised  absolutely  by  God’s  anointed,  and  obeyed 
unquestioned  by  everyone  else.  A king  who  is  not 
absolute  loses  in  the  oriental  mind  the  essential 
quality  of  kingship.  Every  Eastern  people,  if  left  to 
itself,  sets  up  a despot,  to  whose  decrees  of  life  and 
death  it  submits  with  the  same  resignation  and  as- 
sent that  it  shows  towards  the  fiat  of  destiny.  In  the 
East  I'dtat  c'est  moi,  the  King  is  the  State,  its  minis- 
ters are  his  instruments,  its  people  are  his  slaves. 
His  worst  excesses  and  most  savage  cruelties  are  en- 
dured in  the  same  way  as  plague  and  famine:  all 
belong  to  the  irresistible  and  inscrutable  manifesta- 


KINGSHIP  IN  INDIA 


6i 


tions  of  the  divine  order  of  the  universe.  The  only 
kind  of  king  that  the  East  tolerates  with  difficulty  is 
the  faineant.  Let  him  be  strong  and  masterful,  and 
he  may  do  as  he  pleases ; but  the  weak  sovereign 
rarely  keeps  his  throne  long,  and  keeps  it  only  by 
force  of  traditional  loyalty  or  dread  of  the  unknown 
risks  of  revolution. 

In  the  history  of  Mohammedan  India,  then,  we 
have  to  do  with  kings  and  their  works.  They  are 
surrounded  by  a court  of  officers  and  functionaries, 
who  are  raised  or  displaced  at  the  royal  pleasure. 
Beneath  them  toil  incessantly  the  millions  of  pa- 
tient peasants  and  industrious  townsfolk.  These 
people  have  not  changed  in  any  essential  character- 
istic since  the  dawn  of  history.  They  have  wit- 
nessed the  successive  inroads  of  horde  after  horde  of 
invading  foreigners,  and  have  incorporated  some 
part  of  each  new  element  into  their  ancient  system. 
They  have  obeyed  the  king,  whether  Aryan,  Hun, 
Greek,  Persian,  Rajput,  Turk,  Afghan,  Mongol,  or 
English,  with  the  same  inveterate  resignation,  con- 
tented or  at  least  not  very  discontented  with  their 
immemorial  village  system  and  district  government, 
which  corrected  to  some  extent  the  contrasts  of  suc- 
cessive foreign  innovators.  Whatever  king  may 
rule, — so  the  Indian  would  resignedly  argue — there 
will  still  be  plague  and  famine  and  constant  but  not 
energetic  labour,  and  so  long  as  the  rice  and  millet 
grow  and  salt  is  not  too  dear,  life  is  much  the  same 
and  the  gods  may  be  propitiated.  The  difference 
caused  in  the  rayat’s  life  by  a good  or  a bad  king  is 
too  slight  to  be  worth  discussing.  The  good  and  the 


62 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


ill  are  alike  things  of  a day  ; they  pass  away  as  the 
life  passes  when  the  king  decrees  a death  or  mas- 
sacres a village ; but  others  follow  and  the  world 
goes  on,  and  the  will  of  God  is  eternal. 

The  kings  whose  deeds  are  to  be  described  were 
foreigners  in  origin,  but  this  made  little  if  any  differ- 
ence in  the  respect  which  their  authority  implied. 
There  is  of  course  as  great  a contrast  between  a 
Muslim  Turk  and  a Hindu  Rajput  as  between  a 
Scottish  Presbyterian  and  a Spanish  Catholic ; but 
the  reverence  paid  to  power  overbore  all  distinctions 
of  race.  The  caste  system  had  accustomed  Indians 
to  immovable  barriers  between  classes,  and  though 
the  Muslim  kings  had  no  claim  of  pedigree  and  not 
much  distinction  of  ceremonial  purity,  they  formed 
in  a way  a caste,  the  caste  of  Islam,  a fellowship  of 
equal  brotherhood  unsurpassed  in  coherence  and 
strength  in  all  the  world.  The  great  power  of  Islam 
as  a missionary  influence  in  India  has  been  due  to 
the  benefits  of  this  caste.  The  moment  an  Indian 
accepts  Islam  he  enters  a brotherhood  which  admits 
no  distinctions  of  class  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
every  advancement  in  office  and  rank  and  marriage 
is  open  to  him.  To  those  outside  Islam  the  yoke  of 
the  alien  ruler  was  no  worse  than  that  of  the  native 
raja.  Both  represented  a separate  caste,  and  both 
belonged  to  the  inscrutable  workings  of  providence.’ 

The  essential  union  of  the  Muslims  as  a conquer- 
ing caste  was  indeed  the  chief  cause  of  their  success- 
ful hold  of  the  vastly  preponderating  multitudes 

' Compare  the  suggestive  thoughts  on  this  subject  in  Mr.  Mere- 
dith Townsend’s  Asia  atid  Europe  (1901). 


THE  CASTE  OF  ISLAM 


63 


they  governed.  Their  power  in  India  was  always 
that  of  an  armed  camp,  but  it  was  a camp  in  which 
all  the  soldiers  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder  for  the 
same  cause,  in  which  all  were  equal  brothers ; and  it 
had  the  immense  resource  of  being  able  to  draw  con- 
tinually and  in  unlimited  numbers  upon  the  recruit- 
ing grounds  of  the  Mohammedan  countries  behind 
it,  which  were  always  reinforcing  their  co-religionists 
by  fresh  bodies  of  hardy  adventurers,  free  from  the 
lethargy  of  self-indulgence  that  too  often  etiolates  the 
exotic  in  the  Indian  forcing-house.  The  very  bigotry 
of  their  creed  was  an  instrument  of  self-preservation  ; 
in  mere  self-defence  they  must  hold  together  as  God’s 
elect  in  the  face  of  the  heathen,  and  they  must  win 
over  proselytes  from  the  Hindus,  whether  by  per- 
suasion or  by  the  sword,  to  swell  their  isolated  mi- 
nority. Hence  the  solidarity  and  the  zeal  which, 
added  to  their  greater  energy  and  versatility,  gave 
the  Muslims  their  superiority  over  natives  who  were 
sometimes  their  equals  in  courage,  though  never  in 
unity,  in  enthusiasm,  or  in  persistence.  The  clan- 
nishness of  the  Hindus,  their  devotion  to  local  chiefs, 
and  their  ineradicable  jealousies  of  each  other,  pre- 
vented anything  approaching  national  patriotism ; 
and  their  religious  system,  which  rested  upon  birth 
and  race  and  class,  whilst  precluding  the  very  idea 
of  proselytism,  deprived  them  of  the  fanatical  zeal  of 
the  missionary.  Moreover  they  were  always  on  the 
defensive,  and  except  behind  ramparts  the  defensive 
position  is  the  weaker  part.  The  Muslims,  inspired 
by  the  spirit  of  adventure,  of  militant  propaganda, 
of  spreading  the’Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  as  well 


64 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


as  seizing  the  goods  of  this  world,  had  every  advan- 
tage  over  the  native  Hindus,  and  when  the  invaders 
were  led  by  kings  who  embodied  these  masterful 
qualities  their  triumph  was  assured. 

The  example  of  the  warrior  king,  like  Mohammad 
Ghori,  bred  heroic  followers.  Whatever  may  be  said 
against  the  slave  system,  in  the  East  it  tends  to  the 
production  of  great  men.  While  a brilliant  ruler’s 
son  is  apt  to  be  a failure,  the  slaves  of  a real  leader 
of  men  have  often  proved  the  equals  of  their  master. 
The  reason  of  course  is  that  the  son  is  a mere 
speculation.  He  may  or  may  not  inherit  his  father’s 
talents ; even  if  he  does,  the  very  success  and  power 
of  the  father  create  an  atmosphere  of  luxury  that 
does  not  encourage  effort ; and,  good  or  bad,  the  son 
is  an  immovable  fixture:  only  a father  with  an  ex- 
ceptional sense  of  public  duty  would  execute  an  in- 
competent son  to  make  room  for  a talented  slave. 
On  the  other  hand  the  slave  is  the  ‘ survival  of  the 
fittest  ’ ; he  is  chosen  for  physical  and  mental  abili- 
ties, and  he  can  hope  to  retain  his  position  in  his 
master’s  favour  only  by  vigilant  effort  and  hard 
service.  Should  he  be  found  wanting,  his  fate  is 
sealed. 

The  famous  Seljuk  empire  furnished  a notable 
example  of  the  influence  of  a great  man  upon  his 
slaves.  The  mamluk  guard  of  the  emperor  Malik 
Shah  formed  a school  of  capable  rulers.  ‘ However 
servile  in  origin,  the  pedigree  carried  with  it  no  sense 
of  ignominy.  In  the  East  a slave  is  often  held  to  be 
better  than  a son,  and  to  have  been  the  slave  of 
Malik  Shah  constituted  a special  title  of  respect. 


THE  SLA  VE  KINGS 


65 


Tlie  great  slave  vassals  of  the  Seljuks  were  as  proud 
and  honourable  as  any  Bastards  of  mediaeval  aristo- 
cracy; and  when  they  in  turn  assumed  kingly  pow- 
ers, they  inherited  and  transmitted  to  their  lineage 
the  high  traditions  of  their  former  lords.’  ‘ The 
same  process  was  seen  in  the  great  slave  leaders  who 
were  among  the  earliest  Mamluk  Sultans  of  Egypt 
in  the  thirteenth  century  ; and  an  equally  conspicu- 


lill.LON  COIN  or  YII.DIZ,  SHOWING  CHOHAN  HORSEMAN. 

ous  example  is  found  in  India  in  the  slaves  of  Mo- 
hammad Ghori.  When  someone  condoled  with 
him  on  his  lack  of  male  offspring  to  carry  on  his  line, 
he  replied  ‘ Have  I not  thousands  of  children  in  my 
Turki  slaves?’  Four  of  his  mamluks  rose  to  high 
command : Yildiz  in  the  Afghan  mountains,  Ku- 
bacha  on  the  Indus,  Bakhtiyar  in  Bengal,  Aybek  at 
Delhi.  Of  these  Kutb-ad-din  Aybek'^  was  the  chief. 
Brought  as  a child,  like  so  many  slaves  of  the  period, 
from  Turkistan  to  Khurasan  he  was  well-educated 


' Lane-Poole,  Saladiu,  22,  23. 

® Aybek  means  ‘ Moon-lord,’  probably  with  reference  to  personal 
beauty.  The  common  statement  that  it  signified  ‘maimed,’  on  ac- 
count of  his  loss  of  a finger,  is  due  to  a misreading  of  a passage  in 
the  Tabakat-i-Nasiri. 

6 


66 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


by  his  owner,  the  chief  kazi  of  Naishapur,  and  when 
grown  up  he  was  sent  in  a merchant’s  caravan  to 
Ghazni,  where  he  was  purchased  by  Mohammad 
Ghori.  His  brave  and  generous  character  soon  w'on 
him  favour,  and  rising  step  by  step  to  be  master  of 
the  horse,  he  accompanied  the  sultan  in  his  cam- 
paigns, was  taken  prisoner  in  Khwarizm  and  fortu- 
nately recaptured  ; and  after  the  defeat  of  Prithwi 
Raja  of  Ajmir  the  government  of  India  was  confided 
to  the  successful  slave. 

Aybek’s  chief  exploits  were  achieved  during  his 
viceroyalty.  Hansi,  Mirat,  Delhi  (1191),  Rantam- 
bhor,  Koil  fell  before  his  assault,  and  he  led  the  van- 
guard of  the  Ghorian  army  in  1 194  when  it  conquered 
Benares.  When  the  sultan  returned  to  Ghazni  after 
this  crowning  triumph,  it  was  Aybek  who  subdued 
the  ill-timed  revolt  of  the  vassal  raja  of  Ajmir. 
Master  and  slave  humbled  the  pride  of  Gwaliar,  that 
‘ pearl  of  the  necklace  of  the  castles  of  Hind,’  and 
compelled  the  raja  Solankhpal  to  render  tribute  in 
1196;  and  in  the  following  year  Aybek  won  a signal 
victory  over  the  vast  array  of  the  prince  of  Anhal- 
wara,  who  left  fifty  thousand  dead  on  the  field,  while 
twenty  thousand  prisoners  and  immense  booty  fell 
into  the  Muslims’  hands.  Thus  the  kingdom  of  Gu- 
jarat came  under  the  power  of  Ghor.  Kalinjar,  the 
seat  of  the  Cliandel  rajas,  after  a desperate  resistance, 
fell  before  Aybek’s  attack  in  1202  ; its  temples  were 
turned  into  mosques  and  fifty  thousand  men  put  on 
the  ‘ collar  of  slavery.’  At  the  same  time  Moham- 
mad Bakhtiyar,  a fellow'  marshal  (Sipahsalar),  who  for 
the  first  time  had  carried  the  Muslim  arms  across 


THE  KUTB  MINAR  AT  DELHI. 


67 


68 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Bihar  into  Bengal,  and  made  Lakhnauti  his  capital, 
brought  his  spoils  and  his  homage  to  the  great  vice- 
roy. The  energy  of  Aybek  and  Bakhtiyar  had  com- 
pleted the  successes  of  Mohammad  Ghori,  and  nearly 
all  Hindustan  north  of  the  Vindhya  range  was  under 
Muslim  sway. 

What  that  sway  meant  we  know  only  from  the 
chroniclers  of  the  conquering  races.  According  to 
Hasan  Nizami,  who  wrote  at  Delhi  in  the  midst  of 
these  campaigns  and  knew  Aybek  well,  the  viceroy 
administered  his  wide  jorovinces  ‘ in  the  ways  of  jus- 
tice ’ and  ‘the  people  were  happy.’  Tribute  and 
military  service  were  exacted  as  the  price  of  tolera- 
tion, and  Aybek’s  impartiality  is  extolled  in  the 
metaphorical  phrase  that  ‘ the  wolf  and  the  sheep 
drank  water  out  of  the  same  pond.’  ‘ The  reads 
were  freed  from  robbers,’  and  the  Hindus  both  ‘high 
and  low  were  treated  with  royal  benignity,’  which 
however  did  not  prevent  the  viceroy  from  making  an 
immense  number  of  slaves  in  his  wars.  So  muni- 
ficent was  he  that  he  was  called  ‘ Lakhbakhsh  ’ or 
‘Giver  of  lacs.’  At  Delhi  he  busied  himself  in  build- 
ing the  great  mosque  or  Jami’  Masjid  and  the  fam- 
ous minaret  known  after  his  surname  as  the  Kutb 
Minar,  which  stood  originally  250  feet  high  and  is  the 
tallest  minaret  in  the  world.  Its  boldly  jutting  bal- 
conies, alternate  angular  and  rounded  fluting,  and 
fine  Arabic  inscriptions  set  off  the  natural  contrasts 
of  white  marble  and  red  sandstone  of  which  it  is 
built.  The  mosque,  like  Aybek’s  other  mosque  at 
Ajmir,  was  constructed  of  the  materials  of  demol- 
ished temples,  and  the  ornament  was  supplied  from 


A YBEK 


69 


the  idols  of  the  Hindus.  Aybek  was  a staunch 
Muslim,  and  though  policy  dictated  toleration  in  the 


THE  GREAT  MOSI,)UE  OK  AJMIR,  Willi  INSCRIPTION  OF  ALTAMISU. 


case  of  powerful  Hindu  vassals,  he  was  a mighty 
‘ fighter  in  the  way  of  God.’  ‘The  realm  was  filled 
with  friends  and  cleared  of  foes,’  says  a contemporary 


70 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


chronicler,  ‘ his  bounty  was  continuous,  and  so  was 
his  slaughter.’ 

Aybek  survived  his  master  only  a few  years,  and 
his  own  full  sovereignty  as  the  first  Slave  sultan  of 
Delhi  ended  in  1210,  when  he  died  from  a fall  from 
his  horse  whilst  playing  mall  or  polo,  an  ancient  and 
favourite  sport  in  Persia  and  India.  A time  of  con- 
fusion followed.  An  incompetent  son  opened  the 
way  to  rivals.  Kubacha  held  Multan  and  Sind  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Indus  and  strove  with  Yildiz  for 
the  possession  of  Lahore  ; Bakhtiyar’s  successor  was 
supreme  in  Bihar  and  Bengal;  and  Shams-ad-din 
Altamish,'  a slave  of  Aybek,  deposing  his  master’s 
son,  took  the  throne  of  Delhi  for  himself.  Alta- 
mish is  the  true  founder  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Slave 
Kings,  which  Aybek  did  not  live  long  enough  to 
consolidate.  The  new  leader  was  a Turk  of  Albari, 
unequalled  (says  his  contemj^orary,  Minhaj-as-siraj) 
‘ in  beauty,  virtue,  intelligence,  and  nobleness  ’ of 
character.  ‘ No  king  so  benevolent,  sympathetic, 
reverent  to  the  learned  and  the  old,  ever  rose  by  his 
own  efforts  to  the  cradle  of  empire.’  Taken  to  Ghazni 
in  his  youth,  he  was  purchased  by  Aybek,  who  car- 
ried him  to  Delhi,  made  him  captain  of  his  guard, 
and  eventually  governor  of  Gwaliar  (i  196).  What 
Aybek  had  been  to  Mohammad  Ghori,  Altamish 
was  to  Aybek,  who  used  him  like  a son.  When 
Aybek’s  real  son  proved  unfit  to  rule,  the  chiefs  of 
the  army  begged  Altamish  to  take  the  throne. 

' Altamish  or  Altamsh  is  the  Persian  spelling,  but  the  original 
Turk!  name,  as  written  on  coins  and  inscriptions  and  transliterated 
into  Nagari,  was  probably  Il-tutmish,  ‘ Hand-grasper.’ 


MONGOL  INVASION 


71 


It  was  a stormy  advent.  Yildiz  indeed,  ruling  at 
Ghazni,  saw  the  wisdom  of  conciliation,  and  sent 
him  the  sceptre  and  umbrella  of  state;  but  Kubacha 
refused  to  surrender  Lahore,  and  it  was  not  till  1217 
that  Altamish  obtained  possession  of  the  northern 
Panjab  by  the  defeat  of  his  rival.  These  contests 
were  as  nothing  compared  with  the  tumult  to  come. 
A new  and  incalculable  danger  threatened  all  Asia. 
The  hordes  of  the  flagellum  Dei,  Chingiz  Kaan,  had 
begun  to  overflow  their  steppes;  and  the  first  sign 
of  the  Mongols’  approach  was  the  flight  of  Yildiz 
into  India,  driven  by  the  broken  armies  of  the 
Khwarizm  Shah,  themselves  flying  panic-stricken  be- 
fore the  victorious  savages.  One  after  the  other 
they  came  down  from  the  mountain  passes:  first  the 
Turkish  governors,  then  the  Khwarizmian  fugitives, 
and  hard  on  their  heels  the  dreaded  Mongols.  Jalal- 
ad-din,  the  last  shah  of  Khwarizm  and  heir  of  an 
empire  which  once  spread  from  Otrar  and  Khiva, 
Samarkand  and  Bukhara,  to  Herat  and  Isfahan,  re- 
treated fighting  his  way  to  the  Indus,  whither 
Chingiz  pursued  him,  beat  him  (1221),  and  drove 
him  still  dauntless  into  Sind.  The  adventures  of 
this  heroic  prince,  who  battled  his  way  back  through 
Persia  only  to  succumb  at  last  after  a decade  of  dar- 
ing energy,  form  a stirring  page  of  romantic  history. 

The  tumult  was  tremendous,  but  the  storm  passed 
away  as  quickly  as  it  came.  The  Mongols  wintered 
and  then  retired : fortunately  for  India  their  eyes 
were  set  westward.  Out  of  this  turmoil  Altamish 
emerged  stronger  than  before.  Yildiz  and  Kubacha 
disappeared  from  history : the  one  died  in  prison ; 


72 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


the  other,  after  many  a struggle  with  the  forces, 
Mongol  and  Khwarizmian,'  that  in  turn  ravaged  his 
border-provinces,  at  last  saw  his  chief  cities  falling 
before  the  siege  of  Altamish,  and  in  his  desperation 
drowned  himself  in  the  Indus  (1230).  Before  this 
the  king  of  Delhi  had  marched  into  Bengal  (1225) 
and  received  the  homage  of  the  governor,  who  had 
not  only  attained  independent  power  but  proclaimed 
it  by  his  coinage^  The  whole  of  the  dominions  of 
Aybek  were  now  in  the  hands  of  his  slav^e,  and  in 
1234  expeditions  into  Malwa  as  far  as  Ujjayn  com- 
pleted the  submission  of  all  India  north  of  the 
Vindhyas. 

The  seal  was  set  on  a career  of  unvaried  success 
when  the  caliph  of  Baghdad  (in  1229)  sent  an  em- 
bassy of  state  to  invest  Altamish  with  the  robe  of 
office  as  recognized  sovereign  of  India.  Thence- 
forth the  king  inscribed  upon  his  coins  not  only  the 
proud  legend  ‘The  Mighty  Sultan,  Sun  of  the  Em- 
pire and  the  Faith,  Conquest-laden,  Il-tutmish,’  but 
also  ‘Aid  of  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful,’  Nasir- 
Amir-al-Muminin.  The  broad  silver  pieces  on  which 
these  titles  appeared  were  new  to  the  currency  of 
India.  Hitherto  the  invaders  had  issued  small  bil- 
lon coins  of  the  native  form,  inscribed  with  their 
names  in  the  Nagari  and  sometimes  in  Arabic 
character,  and  bearing  symbols  familiar  to  the  Hin- 

' The  Khwarizm  troops  under  their  general  Hasan  Karlagh  and 
his  son  Mohammad  held  Sind  until  at  least  1260. 

^ See  the  coins  of  Ghiyas-ad-din  Ivvaz  of  1223  in  Lane-Poole, 
Catalogue  of  Indian  Coins  in  the  British  11  useut?i  : Mohammedan 
States,  p.  g,  and  Introd.,  p.  x. 


ALTA  MI  SH 


73 


dus,  such  as  the  bull  of  Siva  and  the  Chohan 
horseman.  Altamish  was  the  first  to  introduce  a 
purely  Arabic  coinage,  such  as  had  long  been  in  use 
in  countries  further  west,  and  to  adopt  as  his  stand- 
ard coin  the  silver  tanka,  the  ancestor  of  the  rupee, 
weighing  175  grains,  and  thus  exactly  corresponding 
to  our  florin.  Gold  tankas  of  the  same  weight  were 
introduced  somewhat  later  by  Balban. 

P'or  ten  years  after  the  death  of  Altamish  in  1236 
his  kingdom  suffered  from  the  weakness  and  de- 


SILVER  COIN  or-  ALTAMISH. 


pravity  of  his  sons.  The  first,  Firoz  Shah,  was  a 
handsome,  generous,  soft-hearted,  convivial,  young 
fool,  who  spent  his  money  upon  singers  and  buffoons 
and  worse,  and  swaying  drunk  upon  his  elephant 
through  the  bazars  showered  red  gold  upon  the 
admiring  crowd.  ‘God  forgive  him,’ says  the  chron- 
icler of  his  time,  ‘ sensuality,  frivolity,  and  the  com- 
pany of  the  lewd  and  base  bring  an  empire  to  ruin.’ 
His  mother,  a Turkish  slave,  managed  the  govern- 
ment, whilst  her  son  wantoned,  till  her  savage 
cruelty  caused  a general  revolt.  The  pair  were 
imprisoned,  and  Firoz  died  after  a nominal  reign  of 
not  quite  seven  months.  His  sister  Raziyat-ad-din 


74 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Devoted  to  the  Faith  ’)  was  chosen  in  his  place. 
She  was  the  only  child  after  her  father’s  heart. 
‘Sultan  Raziya,’  says  the  same  chronicler,  who  knew 
her, ‘was  a great  monarch:  wise,  just,  generous,  a 
benefactor  to  her  realm,  a dispenser  of  equity,  the 
protector  of  her  people,  and  leader  of  her  armies ; 
she  had  all  kingly  qualities  except  sex,  and  this 
exception  made  all  her  virtues  of  no  effect  in  the 
eyes  of  men,  may  God  have  mercy  upon  her!’ 
Altamish  had  perceived  her  great  qualities,  trusted 
her  with  power,  and  named  her  his  heir.  When  the 
astonished  ministers  remonstrated  on  the  unprece- 
dented idea  of  setting  a woman  on  a Muslim  throne, 
he  said,  ‘ My  sons  are  given  over  to  the  follies  of 
youth  : none  of  them  is  fit  to  be  king  and  rule  this 
country,  and  you  will  find  there  is  no  one  better  able 
to  do  so  than  my  daughter.’ 

By  a curious  coincidence  three  Muslim  queens, 
the  only  three  women  who  were  ever  elected  to  the 
throne  in  the  Mohammedan  East,  reigned  in  the 
thirteenth  century.  Shajar-ad-durr,  the  high-spirited 
slave-wife  of  Saladin’s  grand-nephew,  the  woman 
who  defeated  the  crusade  of  Louis  IX  and  after- 
wards spared  the  saintly  hero’s  life,  was  queen  of 
the  Mamluks  in  Egypt  in  1250.  Abish,  the  last 
of  the  princely  line  of  Salghar,  patrons  of  Sa'di,  ruled 
the  great  province  of  Ears  for  nearly  a quarter  of  a 
century  during  the  troubled  period  of  Mongol  su- 
premacy. Raziya,  daughter  of  Altamish,  less  fortu- 
nate, sat  on  the  throne  of  Delhi  for  only  three  years 
and  a half  (1236-40).  She  did  her  best  to  prove  her- 
self a man,  wore  manly  dress,  and  showed  her  face 


QUEEN  RAZIYA 


75 


fearlessly  as  she  rode  her  elephant  at  the  head  of 
her  troops.  But  nothing  could  convince  the  Turkish 
chiefs  that  a woman  could  or  should  lead  them. 


TOMB  OF  ALTAMISH  AT  DELHI. 


The  Arabian  Prophet  had  said  truly  that  ‘the  most 
precious  thing  in  the  world  is  a virtuous  woman,’ 
but  he  had  also  said  that  ‘ the  people  that  makes  a 
woman  its  ruler  will  not  find  salvation.’  Raziya  was 
clearly  impossible,  and  her  preference  for  the  Aby.s- 
sinian  Yakut,  though  perfectly  innocent  so  far  as 
any  evidence  goes,  roused  the  jealousy  of  the  domi- 
nant Turks. 


;6 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


The  slave  system  had  grown  stronger  by  the  suc- 
cessful careers  of  Aybek  and  Altamish.  The  latter 
had  formed  a corps  of  Turkish  mamluks  known  as 
‘ the  Fort}',’  and  these  men,  profiting  by  the  removal 
of  the  master’s  hand,  shared  among  themselves  the 
wealth  and  power  of  the  kingdom.  The  free-born 
men  who  had  served  Altamish  with  great  ability  in 
various  offices  were  removed,  and  all  control  was  in 
the  hands  of  ‘the  Forty.’  These  khans'  were  not 
likely  to  endure  the  insult  of  seeing  an  Abyssinian 
set  over  them  by  a partial  woman.  They  rose  in 
rebellion,  and  though  at  first  the  gallant  queen  made 
head  against  them,  she  was  finally  taken  prisoner  by 
the  rebel  governor  Altuniya  (1240).  Even  then  she 
subdued  her  captor  and  became  his  queen,  and  the 
two  set  forth  to  regain  her  throne.  But  her  brother 
was  already  proclaimed  in  her  stead  ; her  army  was 
beaten  ; and  Raziya  and  her  husband,  deserted  by 
their  troops,  fled  into  the  jungles  and  were  killed. 

There  is  no  need  to  dwell  upon  the  brief  and  in- 
glorious reigns  of  Bahrain  and  Mas‘ud,  the  one  a 
brother,  the  other  a nephew  of  Raziya.  The  former 
is  described  as  ‘ a fearless,  intrepid,  and  sanguinary 
man:  still  he  had  some  virtues  — he  was  shy  and 
unceremonious,  and  had  no  taste  for  gorgeous  at- 
tire.’ FI  is  two  years  of  power  were  spent  in  plots 
and  counterplots,  treacherous  executions,  and  cruel 
murders,  and  he  was  killed  after  a siege  of  Delhi  by 
the  exasperated  army.  The  next,  Mas'ud,  ‘ acquired 

’ ‘Khan’  is  a Persian  term  for  ‘lord,’  answering  to  the  Arabic 
‘amir.’  In  India  it  was  specially  applied  to  Turkish  and  Afghan 
nobles  or  officers,  and  still  implies  Afghan  race  though  not  rank. 


BA  LB  AN 


77 


the  habit  of  seizing  and  killing  his  nobles,’  and  spent 
his  time  in  abandoned  pleasures.  It  was  no  time 


SILVER  COIN  OF  QUEEN  RAZIYA,  STRUCK  AT  LAKHNAUTI. 


for  weak  rulers.  The  Mongols  were  again  on  the 
march  ; they  had  massacred  the  inhabitants  of  La- 
hore in  December,  1241,  and  established  themselves 
on  the  Indus  with  every  appearance  of  permanent 
conquest.' 

At  this  juncture  another  remarkable  slave  came 
to  the  rescue  of  the  state.  The  nominal  king  was 
Nasir-ad-din,  a third  son  of  Altamish  ; but  the  reins 
of  power  were  in  the  strong  hands  of  Balban.  He 
was  a Turk  of  the  same  district  as  Altamish  and 
boasted  his  descent  from  the  Khakans  of  Albari ; 
his  father  ruled  ten  thousand  kibitkas,  and  his  kins- 
men still  governed  their  ancestral  tribes  in  Turkistan. 
But  Balban  was  not  to  enjoy  such  obscure  distinc- 
tion. ‘The  Almighty  desired  to  grant  a support  to 
the  power  of  Islam  and  to  the  strength  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan faith,  to  extend  His  glorious  shadow  over 

' E.  Thomas,  Ckronick’s  of  the  Pathan  Nings,  121,  has  conclu- 
sively shown  that  the  statement  that  the  Mongols  reached  Lakhnauti 
in  Bengal  is  due  to  a misreading  of  the  Persian  text  of  the  Tabakat- 
i-Nasiri. 


78 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


it,  and  to  preserve  Hindustan  within  the  range  of 
His  favour  and  protection.  He  therefore  removed 
Balban  in  his  youth  from  Turkistan,  and  separated 
him  from  his  race  and  kindred,  from  his  tribe  and 
relations,  and  conveyed  him  to  this  country  for  the 
purpose  of  curbing  the  Mongols.’  In  short  Balban 
was  kidnapped  or  taken  prisoner  as  a child  and 
brought  to  India,  where  he  was  purchased  by  Alta- 
mish.  The  story  runs  that  the  sultan  refused  at  first 
to  buy  him,  because  of  his  shortness  and  ugliness. 
‘ Master  of  the  world,’  cried  the  slave,  ‘ for  whose 
sake  have  you  bought  these  other  servants?’  ‘ For 
mine  own,’  said  Altamish,  laughing.  ‘ Then  buy  me 
for  the  sake  of  God,’  begged  Balban.  ‘ So  be  it,’ 
said  the  sultan,  and  the  ugly  slave  was  set  among 
the  bhistis  or  water-bearers.  He  soon  showed  that 
he  was  fitted  for  better  things,  rose  to  distinguished 
offices,  and  was  enrolled  in  the  famous  corps  of  ‘ the 
Forty  ’ slaves. 

‘ The  hawk  of  fortune  ’ was  thus  set  upon  his 
wrist.  He  served  Raziya  as  chief  huntsman,  and 
retained  his  post  under  Bahrain.  ‘ The  steed  of  rule 
came  under  his  bridle.’  He  was  given  a fief 
or  grant  of  lands.  When  the  sultan  was  besieged  in 
Delhi,  Balban  was  among  the  leading  rebels,  and  the 
success  of  the  consj:)iracy  brought  him,  in  reward  for 
his  help,  the  government  of  Hansi,  where  he  showed 
himself  an  improving  and  benevolent  ruler,  at  once 
just  and  generous.  In  1243  as  lord  chamberlain  he 
subdued  rebellion  and  pacified  the  country,  and 
when  the  Mongols  under  Mangu  Kaan  pushed  their 
way  across  the  Indus,  it  was  mainly  due  to  the 


BA  LB  AN 


79 


urgent  advice  and  strenuous  efforts  of  Balban  — who 
received  the  title  of  Ulugh  Khan,  ‘ Puissant  lord,’  — 
that  the  army  of  Delhi  accomplished  their  defeat. 
It  was  he  who  compelled  the  Mongols  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Uchh  (1245)  and  retire  to  the  hills,  where  he 
pursued  them  with  untiring  vigilance.  In  fact  Bal- 
ban had  become  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  Muslim 
rule,  and  when  Mas‘ud  was  deposed  and  his  uncle 
Nasir-ad-din  set  upon  the  throne,  the  real  authority 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  brilliant  slave  commander- 
in-chief. 

The  feebleness  of  the  successors  of  Altamish  had 
permitted  a recrudescence  of  Hindu  rebellion,  and 
Balban’s  energies  were  devoted  to  constant  cam- 
paigns against  the  ‘ infidels.’  Year  after  year  he  led 
his  troops  through  the  Doab,  or  to  the  hills  of  Ran- 
tambhor,  against  Malwa  or  Kalinjar,  or  the  raja  of 
Ijari,  and  everywhere  his  arms  were  victorious.  His 
reputation  became  so  great  that  the  other  officers 
and  chiefs,  envious  of  his  success,  prejudiced  the 
sultan  against  him  and  had  him  banished  from 
court  (1253).  The  leader  of  this  intrigue  was  a 
renegade  Hindu  eunuch,  and  the  envious  offi- 
cers found  that  they  had  exchanged  the  rule  of  a 
soldier  for  that  of  a schemer.  There  was  universal 
discontent  at  the  disgrace  of  the  favourite,  and  the 
Turkish  chiefs  and  the  Persian  officials  of  good  fam- 
ily resented  the  despotism  of  the  eunuch  and  his 
hired  bullies.  From  all  parts  entreaties  came  to  the 
banished  general  beseeching  him  to  come  back.  The 
Turkish  chiefs  even  rose  in  arms,  and  this  demon- 
stration procured  the  dismissal  of  Rihan  the  renegade 


8o 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


and  the  restoration  of  Balban  to  all  his  honours 
(1254).  Not  only  were  men  delighted  at  this  act  of 
justice,  but  it  was  observed  that  even  the  Almighty 
manifested  His  pleasure  by  sending  down  the  long- 
needed  rains.  ‘ The  success  of  Ulugh  Khan  shone 
forth  with  brilliant  radiance;  the  garden  of  the  world 
began  to  put  forth  leaf,  and  the  key  of  divine  mercy 
opened  the  doors  of  men’s  hearts.’ 

For  twenty  years  in  all  Balban  served  the  sultan 
indefatigably,  and  they  were  years  full  of  rebellion, 
conspiracy,  and  Mongol  alarms.  His  royal  master 
led  the  life  of  a dervish,  copied  Korans  to  pay  his 
modest  needs,  and  lived  in  the  simplest  manner,  at- 
tended by  one  wife,  who  cooked  his  dinner  and  was 
allowed  no  female  servants.  He  was  a kind  and 
scholarly  gentleman,  who  delighted  in  the  society  of 
the  learned,  but  he  was  no  king  for  India  in  the 
thirteenth  century.  Fortunately  for  him  he  had 
a deputy  in  Balban  fully  able  to  fill  his  place  in  the 
anxious  cares  of  kingship.  To  this  conspicuously 
able  minister  were  due  the  two  great  measures  of 
the  reign  : the  organization  of  the  frontier  provinces 
and  tribes  under  his  able  cousin  Sher  Khan,  by  which 
the  attacks  of  the  Mongols  were  successfully  re- 
pelled ; and  the  steady  suppression  of  Hindu  disaf- 
fection— a perpetual  and  never-extinguished  source 
of  danger — in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  con- 
stant jealousies  and  revolts  of  the  overgrown  Turk- 
ish chiefs  demanded  a strong  hand  to  keep  them 
down,  and  nothing  but  Balban’s  vigorous  energy 
could  have  maintained  the  throne  unimpaired  through 
those  twenty  troubled  years. 


BA  LB  A ATS  GOVERNMENT 


8l 


On  Nasir-ad-din’s  death  in  1266,  the  great  mini- 
ster, whose  loyalty  towards  his  gentle  sovereign 
had  never  wavered,  naturally  stepped  into  his  place. 
The  same  rule  continued,  but  the  mild  influence  of 
the  dervish  sultan  no  longer  softened  the  severity  of 
his  vezir.  The  energetic  minister  became  an  impla- 
cable king.  With  ambitious  Turkish  khans  tread- 
ing on  his  heels,  Hindus  everywhere  ready  to  spring 
at  the  smallest  opening  for  revolt,  marauders  infest- 
ing the  very  gates  of  Delhi,  assaulting  and  robbing 
the  bhistis  and  the  girls  who  fetched  water,  above  all 
with  the  Mongols  ever  hammering  on  the  doors  of 
the  frontier  posts,  Balban  had  reason  to  be  stern  and 
watchful,  and  if  he  carried  his  severity  to  extreme 
lengths  it  was  probably  a case  of  his  own  life  against 
the  rest.  He  suppressed  with  an  iron  hand  the 
forays  of  the  hillmen  who  terrified  the  suburbs  of 
Delhi ; his  armies  scoured  the  jungles  about  the  capi- 
tal, destroyed  the  villages,  cleared  the  forest,  and  at 
a sacrifice  of  100,000  men  turned  a haunt  of  bush- 
rangers into  a peaceable  agricultural  district.  By 
building  forts  in  disturbed  parts  and  establishing 
Afghan  garrisons  in  block-houses,  he  freed  the  roads 
from  the  brigands  who  had  long  practically  closed 
them.  ‘ Sixty  years  have  passed  since  then,’  says 
Barani,  our  chief  authority  for  this  reign,  ‘but  the 
roads  have  ever  since  been  free  from  robbers.’  Such 
immunity  was  not  attained  by  smooth  words.  Bal- 
ban pounced  upon  a disturbed  district  like  a hawk, 
burnt  and  slew  without  mercy,  till  ‘ the  blood  of  the 
rioters  ran  in  streams,  heaps  of  slain  were  seen  near 

every  village  and  jungle,  and  the  stench  of  the  dead 
6 


82 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


even  spread  to  the  Ganges.’  Woodcutters  were 
sent  to  cut  roads  through  the  jungles,  and,  like  the 
reform  of  Marshal  Wade  in  Scotland,  the  roadmak- 
ing did  more  to  bring  order  among  the  wild  tribes 
than  even  the  massacre  of  their  fighting  men. 

In  spite  of  the  suffering  involved,  such  work  as  this 
was  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  kingdom.  So  was  Bal- 
ban’s  firm  treatment  of  the  Turkish  landholders,  who 
were  assuming  hereditary  rights,  and  threatened  to 
furnish  forth  a barons’  war.  Though  these  men  were 
of  his  own  kindred,  and  members,  or  sons  of  mem- 
bers, of  the  famous  ‘ Forty  ’ slaves,  Balban  had  no 
mercy  for  them  ; he  was  with  difficulty  induced  to 
mitigate  the  wholesale  expropriation  that  he  once 
contemplated,  but  it  is  clear  that  he  did  much  to  de- 
prive the  Turkish  khans  of  their  former  power.  He 
is  said  even  to  have  poisoned  his  own  cousin  Slier 
Khan,  the  thirteenth  century  Lawrence  of  the  Pan- 
jab, because  he  held  almost  royal  authority  in  his 
arduous  position  ; and  many  instances  are  recorded 
of  his  terrible  severity  towards  officers  whose  conduct 
gave  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  stern  justice. 

Balban ’s  one  absorbing  preoccupation  was  the 
danger  of  a Mongol  invasion.  For  this  cause  he 
organized  and  disciplined  his  army  to  the  highest 
point  of  efficiency ; for  this  he  made  away  with 
disaffected  or  jealous  chiefs,  and  steadily  refused  to 
entrust  authority  to  Hindus;  for  this  he  stayed 
near  his  capital  and  would  not  be  tempted  into 
distant  campaigns.  To  realize  the  terror  inspired 
by  the  Mongols  one  must  read  their  description  in 
the  writings  of  Amir  Khusru,  a poet  who  lived  at 


DREAD  OF  THE  MONGOLS 


83 


the  court  under  the  patronage  of  Balban’s  cultivated 
son  Prince  Mohammad.  His  picture"  of  the  Tatar 
infidels,  riding  on  camels,  with  their  bodies  of  steel 
and  faces  like  fire,  slits  of  eyes  sharp  as  gimlets, 
short  necks,  leathery  wrinkled  cheeks,  wide  hairy 
nostrils  and  huge  mouths,  their  coarse  skins  covered 
with  vermin  and  their  horrible  smell,  is  the  car- 
icature of  fear.  ‘ They  are  descended  from  dogs, 
but  their  bones  are  bigger,’  he  says.  ‘ The  king 
marvelled  at  their  bestial  faces  and  said  that  God 


GOLD  COIN  OF  BALKAN,  STRUCK  AT  DELHI,  A.H.  672  (A. I).  1273-4). 

must  have  created  them  out  of  hell-fire.  They 
looked  like  so  many  sallow  devils,  and  the  people 
fled  from  them  everywhere  in  panic.’  It  was  no 
wonder  that  Balban  kept  his  army  ever  on  the 
alert  to  drive  such  bogles  away. 

The  only  distant  expedition  the  sultan  made  w'as 
into  Bengal,  where  ‘ the  people  had  for  many  long 
years  tended  to  rebellion  and  the  disaffected  and 
evil-disposed  among  them  generally  succeeded  in  con- 
taminating the  loyalty  of  the  governors.’  Barani’s 
opinion  of  the  Bengalis  has  often  been  reiterated 
in  more  recent  times;  but  in  the  days  of  the  early 
Delhi  kingdom  the  difficulty  of  communication 


84 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


across  imperfectly  subdued  country",  and  the  ab- 
sence of  any  sentiment  of  loyalty  towards  slave 
kings  who  had  not  yet  founded  a settled  hereditary 
monarchy,  may  well  have  fostered  ideas  of  inde- 
pendence in  the  great  eastern  province.  Fifteen 
governors  had  successively  ruled  Bengal  since  Bakh- 
tiyar  the  Khalji  first  carried  the  standard  of 
Mohammad  Ghori  there  in  the  first  year  of  the 
thirteenth  century  ; and  their  authority  had  been 
little  curbed  by  the  Delhi  sultans.  Altamish  had 
put  an  end  to  the  Khalji  chiefs’  ambitions  and 
placed  his  own  son  in  command  of  Bengal,  but  since 
then  the  weakness  of  the  Delhi  kings  had  left  the 
governors  to  do  as  they  pleased. 

Tughril,  the  fifteenth  governor,  a favourite  slave 
of  Balban’s,  observing  that  the  sultan  was  now  an 
old  man  intensely  preoccupied  with  the  menace  of 
the  Mongols,  and  being  fortified  in  his  designs  by 
recent  successes  in  the  wild  country  about  Orisa, 
where  the  Bengal  army  had  taken  vast  spoil,  per- 
mitted ‘ the  egg  of  ambition  to  hatch  ’ in  his  head, 
and  assumed  the  style  and  insignia  of  sovereignty. 
In  vivid  contrast  to  the  cold  severity  of  Balban, 
the  usurper  of  Bengal  was  free  and  open-handed, 
a friend  with  all  the  people.  ‘ Money  closed  the 
eyes  of  the  clear-sighted,  and  greed  of  gold  kept 
the  cautious  quiet.  Soldiers  and  citizens  forgot 
their  fear  of  the  sovereign  power  and  threw  them- 
selves heart  and  soul  into  Tughril’s  cause.’  The 
first  army  sent  against  him  was  defeated,  as  much 
perhaps  by  gold  as  by  steel,  and  many  of  the 
Delhi  troops  deserted  to  the  enemy.  Their  unlucky 


I 


BA  LB  AN  IN  BENGAL 


85 


general,  Aptagin  of  the  long  hair,  felt  the  full  brunt 
of  Balban’s  fury,  and  was  hanged  at  the  gate  of 
Oudh,  to  the  indignation  of  the  cooler  heads  among 
the  people.  A second  expedition  met  with  no 
better  fate. 

Overwhelmed  with  shame  and  anger  the  old 
sultan  himself  led  a third  campaign.  Leaving  the 
marches  over  against  the  Mongols  in  the  care  of 
Prince  Mohammad,  and  placing  trusty  deputies  in 
charge  of  Delhi  and  Samana,  he  took  his  second 
son  Bughra  Khan  with  him,  and  crossing  the  Ganges 
made  straight  for  Lakhnauti,  in  total  disregard  of 
the  rains  which  were  then  in  sea.son.  Collecting 
a fleet  of  boats,  and,  when  none  w’ere  to  be  had, 
wading  through  mud  and  water  under  the  torrential 
rain  of  the  tropics,  the  army  pushed  slowly  and 
steadily  on  to  the  eastern  capital,  only  to  find  that 
Tughril,  not  daring  to  face  the  sultan  in  person, 
had  fled  with  his  troops  and  stores  towards  the 
wilds  of  Jajnagar.  ‘We  are  playing  for  half  my 
kingdom,’  said  Balban,  ‘ and  I will  never  return  to 
Delhi,  nor  even  name  it,  till  the  blood  of  the  rebel 
and  his  followers  is  poured  out.’  The  soldiers  knew 
their  master’s  inflexible  mind,  and  resignedly  made 
their  wills.  The  pursuit  was  vain  for  some  time; 
not  a trace  of  Tughril  or  his  army  Avas  to  be  found. 
At  last  a party  of  scouts  fell  in  with  some  corn- 
dealers  returning  from  the  rebel’s  headquarters. 
Chopping  a couple  of  heads  off  untied  the  tongues 
of  the  rest,  and  the  enemy’s  camp  was  discovered. 
A patrol  of  some  forty  men  cautiously  went  for- 
ward and  viewed  the  tents,  with  the  men  drinking 


86 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


and  singing  and  washing  their  clothes,  the  elephants 
browsing  on  the  branches  of  the  trees,  the  horses 
and  cattle  grazing.  There  was  no  time  to  go  back 
for  reinforcements, — Tughril  would  be  off  with  the 
dawn, — ^and  into  this  scene  of  idyllic  peace  the 
handful  of  troopers  burst  like  a mountain  spate 
Drawing  their  swords  and  shouting  for  Tughril 
they  rode  straight  for  his  tent.  He  heard  the 
clamour  and  leaping  on  a bare-backed  steed  gal- 
loped for  the  river,  while  his  followers  fled  madly  in 
all  directions,  persuaded  that  Balban  and  all  his  army 
were  upon  them.  Tughril  was  checked  by  a dexter- 
ous shaft,  and  in  an  instant  he  was  beheaded. 

Then  followed  the  punishment,  conceived  in  Bal- 
ban’s  comprehensive  way.  Gibbets  were  ranged 
along  both  sides  of  the  long  bazar  of  Lakhnauti,  and 
on  them  were  strung  rows  of  rebels  ; the  sons 
and  kinsmen  and  followers  of  Tughril  were  killed  and 
hung  up  to  the  horror  of  all  beholders.  Two  days 
and  more  the  work  of  retribution  went  on  ; even  a 
beggar  to  whom  the  usurper  had  been  kind  was  not 
spared,  and  old  men  told  Barani  half  a century  later 
‘ that  such  punishment  as  was  inflicted  on  Lakhnauti 
had  never  been  heard  of  in  Delhi,  nor  could  anyone 
remember  such  a thing  in  all  Hindustan.’  When  it 
was  over  the  sultan  sent  for  his  son,  Bughra  Khan 
Mahmud,  and  made  him  take  an  oath  to  recover  and 
hold  the  rest  of  Bengal,  of  which  he  was  then  and 
there  appointed  governor.  Then  he  solemnly  asked 
the  prince,  ‘Mahmud,  dost  thou  see?’  The  son 
did  not  understand.  Again  he  said  ‘ Dost  thou 
see  ? ’ and  the  prince  was  still  silent  and  amazed.  A 


REPRESSION  OF  BENGAL 


87 


third  time  the  question  was  asked,  and  then  the  old 
sultan  explained  : ‘You  saw  my  punishments  in  the 
bazar?  If  ever  designing  and  evil-minded  men 
should  incite  you  to  waver  in  your  allegiance  to 
Delhi  and  to  throw  off  its  authority,  then  remember 
the  vengeance  you  have  seen  wrought  in  the  bazar. 
Understand  me,' and  forget  not,  that  if  the  governors 
of  Hind  or  Sind,  Malwa  or  Gujarat,  Lakhnauti  or 
Sonargaon,  shall  draw  the  sword  and  become  rebels 
to  the  throne  of  Delhi,  then  such  punishment  as  has 
fallen  upon  Tughril  and  his  dependants  will  fall 
upon  them,  their  wives  and  children,  and  all  their 
adherents. 

After  this  deadly  warning,  he  tenderly  embraced 
his  son  with  tears,  and  bade  him  farewell,  knowing 
perfectly  that  all  counsels  were  thrown  away  upon  a 
prince  whose  whole  soul  was  in  his  pleasures.  Never- 
theless Bughra  Khan  and  five  of  his  descendants  ruled 
in  Bengal  for  more  than  half  a century  (1282-1339), 
whilst  in  Delhi  the  house  of  Balban  did  not  survive 
his  death  three  years.  In  suppressing  a rebellion  in 
the  remote  eastern  province,  the  sultan  had  really 
founded  his  dynasty  in  the  only  part  where  it  was  free 
to  hold  its  own.  He  did  not  long  enjoy  the  memories 
of  his  terrible  campaign.  The  death  of  his  first-born, 
the  popular  and  promising  ‘ martyr  prince  ’ Mo- 
hammad, in  battle  against  the  Mongols  near  Di- 
palpur,  in  1285,  broke  his  heart.  During  the  day  he 
struggled  against  his  grief,  held  his  court  with  all 
his  wonted  punctilious  etiquette  and  splendour,  and 
transacted  the  business  of  State  ; but  at  night  he 
wailed  and  cast  dust  upon  his  head. 


88 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


In  1287  Balban  died,  after  forty  years  of  rule,  half 
as  minister,  half  as  king.  No  one  understood  better 
than  he  the  conditions  of  kingship  in  India,  or  how 
to  impose  himself  upon  his  subjects.  He  main- 
tained a rich  and  ceremonious  state  among  a people 
always  impressed  by  magnificence,  and  crowds  of 
Hindus  would  come  long  journeys  to  see  his  pomp 
and  majesty.  Even  his  private  attendants  were  never 
allowed  to  see  him  but  in  full  dress.  That  he  never 
laughed  aloud  is  only  to  say  that  he  was  a well-bred 
oriental  gentleman  who  despised  the  levity  of  an 
empty  mind  ; but  neither  did  he  permit  anyone  else 
to  laugh  ; and  never  joking  or  indulging  in  the  least 
familiarity  with  any  one,  he  allowed  no  frivolity  in 
his  presence.  In  his  youth  he  had  been  fond  of  wine 
and  hazard,  but  all  this  was  put  aside  when  he  came 
to  authority.  Throughout  his  forty  years  of  power 
he  was  never  known  to  hold  converse  with  vulgar 
people  or  to  give  ofhce  to  any  but  well-born  men. 
Slave  as  he  was  once,  he  came  of  a race  of  chiefs, 
and  no  one  showed  more  sensitiveness  in  preserving 
the  dignity  of  a king.  Balban,  the  slave,  water- 
carrier,  huntsman,  general,  statesman,  and  sultan  is 
one  of  the  most  striking  figures  among  many  notable 
men  in  the  long  line  of  the  kings  of  Delhi. 


CHAPTER  V 

FIRST  DECCAN  CONQUESTS 
ALA-AD-DIN  KHALJI 
1 290- 1 32 1 

B ALBAN  was  one  of  those  men  who  leave  no 
successors.  His  very  dominance  checked  the 
growth  of  even  imitators,  much  more  rivals.  He  had 
extinguished  the  powerful  group  of  slaves  who  were 
the  true  inheritors  of  Altamish.  He  had  trained  no 
school  of  great  ministers.  His  hopes  were  centred 
in  his  eldest  son,  who  died  before  him  ; he  had  no 
confidence  in  Bughra  Khan,  and  when  he  found,  on 
offering  him  the  succession,  that  this  frivolous  prince 
preferred  returning  to  his  amusements  in  Bengal  to 
waiting  by  his  father’s  sick-bed  for  the  splendid 
reversion  of  empire,  Balban  in  his  irritation  left  the 
throne  to  a son  of  his  dead  favourite,  who  never 
ascended  it.  A son  of  Bughra  was  set  up  by  the 
chief  officers,  but  never  was  a choice  less  fit.  Kai- 
Kubad  in  his  seventeen  years  had  been  so  carefully 
brought  up  by  tutors  under  his  stern  grandfather’s 
eye  that  he  had  never  been  allowed  to  catch  sight 

89 


90 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


of  a pretty  girl  or  to  sip  a wine-cup.  He  had  been 
taught  all  the  polite  arts  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
impolite.  This  was  the  youth  who  suddenly  found 
himself  absolute  master  of  all  that  the  most  luxur- 
ious city  of  India,  all  that  India  itself,  could  offer  to 
youth  and  desire.  The  result  may  be  left  to  the 
imagination.  In  less  than  three  years  he  had  drunk 
and  debauched  himself  into  a hopeless  paralytic ; 
and  when  a ruffian  was  sent  to  murder  him,  he  found 
the  pitiable  young  man  in  the  chamber  of  mirrors  in 
his  lovely  palace  at  Kilughari  on  the  Jumna,  lying 
at  his  last  gasp,  and  then  and  there  literally  kicked 
him  out  of  this  world. 

His  father  had  come  from  Bengal  to  try  and  save 
him,  though  he  was  not  himself  of  a didactic  nature  ; 
but  he  found  him  amiable  and  hopeless,  utterly 
under  the  spell  of  a clever  vezir,  who  encouraged 
the  fool  in  his  folly  in  the  hope  of  succeeding  to  the 
throne.  But  the  vezir  Nizam-ad-din  overreached 
himself.  The  crippling  of  the  kingdom  was  more  ser- 
ious than  the  paralysis  of  the  sultan.  The  officers  who 
remembered  the  stern  order  of  Balban’s  rule  found 
even  greater  severity  but  none  of  the  order  under 
the  arrogant  vezir.  A series  of  murders,  beginning 
with  Balban’s  heir-designate,  the  son  of  the  ‘ martyr 
prince,’  followed  by  an  insidious  inquisition  from 
which  no  man  was  safe,  roused  an  opposition  which 
developed  into  a war  of  races. 

Besides  the  Turks  who  had  held  most  of  the  of- 
fices of  state  since  the  days  of  Aybek,  there  were  a 
large  number  of  adventurers  of  other  races  in  the 
service  of  the  Slave  Kings.  Many  of  these  were  Af- 


THE  KHALJIS 


91 


ghans,  or  Turks  so  mixed  and  associated  with 
Afghans  that  they  had  absorbed  their  character  and 
customs.  These  were  known  as  Patans  or  Pathans, 
a term  used  loosely,  much  as  Moghul  was  in  later 
times,  to  describe  the  white  men  from  the  north- 
west mountains.  The  clan  of  Khaljis,  named  after 
the  Afghan  village  of  Khalj,  though  probably  of 
Turkish  origin,  had  become  Afghan  in  character, 
and  between  them  and  the  Turks  there  was  no  love 
lost.  Khaljis  had  conquered  Bengal  and  ruled  there, 
and  Khaljis  held  many  posts  in  other  parts.  These 
formed  a strong  party,  and  rallied  round  Jalal-ad- 
din,  the  muster-master  or  adjutant-general,  an  old 
Khalji  who  had  been  marked  down  for  destruction 
by  the  Turkish  adherents  of  the  vezir.  The  Khaljis 
were  not  popular ; but  the  vezir  was  hated : the 
choice  of  evils,  however,  did  not  lie  with  the  people, 
and  on  the  death  of  the  paralytic  sultan  the  reaction 
against  the  Turks  brought  the  Khaljis  into  power, 
and  set  Jalal-ad-din  upon  the  throne  of  Delhi.  For 
a time  at  least  the  Turks  had  lost  the  empire. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  adaptability  of  the  In- 
dian people  that  although  the  Turks  were  foreigners 
and  their  rule  had  been  anything  but  conciliatory, 
their  suppression  was  resented  as  a wanton  innova- 
tion. No  Khalji,  they  said,  had  ever  been  a king, 
and  the  race  had  no  part  or  lot  in  Delhi.  Conserva- 
tive in  everything,  the  Indian  cherishes  even  his 
oppressors.  Nevertheless  the  Khalji  dynasty  lasted 
thirty  years,  and  included  six  sovereigns ; and 
amongst  them  was  one  great  ruler,  whose  reign  of 
twenty  years  contributed  powerfully  to  the  extension 


92 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


of  the  Muslim  dominion  in  India.  Jalal-ad-din  Firoz 
Shah  himself  was  the  mildest  king  that  ever  held  a 
sceptre.  An  old  man  of  seventy  years,  preoccupied 
with  preparations  for  the  next  world,  he  utterly  re- 
fused to  shed  blood  even  for  flagrant  crimes.  When 
Chhaju,  a nephew  of  Balban,  led  an  army  against 
the  sultan  and  the  rebels  were  defeated  and  cap- 
tured, Firoz  forgave  them  freely  and  even  kindly 
commended  their  loyalty  to  the  fallen  house.  A 
thousand  Thugs  were  arrested,  but  Firoz  would  not 
consent  to  the  execution  of  even  the  members  of  a 
society  of  assassins,  and  merely  banished  them  to 
Bengal.  Traitors,  conspirators,  thieves,  alike  found 
mercy  and  forgiveness  at  the  hands  of  the  long- 
suffering  king,  who  had  never  stained  his  soul  with 
blood  save  in  open  battle,  and  then — as  against  the 
Mongols  on  the  Indus  in  1292 — he  had  shown  himself 
valiant  enough.  The  execution  of  a fakir  suspected 
of  magic  and  sedition  was  his  only  act  of  capital 
punishment,  and  the  exception  was  unfortunate: 
superstitious  folk  saw  in  the  black  storm  that  dark- 
ened the  world  on  the  day  of  the  holy  man’s  death 
under  the  elephant’s  foot,  and  in  the  famine  that 
ensued,  omens  of  the  fall  of  the  crown. 

The  invincible  clemency  and  humility  of  the  sultan 
were  incomprehensible  and  exasperating  to  his  fol- 
lowers. His  was  no  ideal  of  kingship  for  an  Eastern 
world.  They  resented  his  simplicity  of  life  and 
even  his  familiar  evenings  with  the  old  friends  of 
his  former  obscurity.  They  did  not  appreciate  his 
love  of  wit  and  learning.  What  they  wanted  was  a 
fighting  king,  inexorable  in  his  judgments  and  unsur- 


ALA-AD-DIN 


93 


passable  in  his  pomp.  Sedition  grew  apace,  and  the 
sultan’s  nephew,  Ala-ad-din,  who  had  married  his 
uncle’s  daughter,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  mal- 
contents. After  a course  of  dissimulation — it  was 
easy  to  deceive  the  kind-hearted  unsuspecting  old 
man — the  nephew  drew  the  sultan  unarmed  and 
unguarded  into  a trap  (1296),  and  as  Firoz  was 
stooping  and  actually  fondling  the  traitor.  Ala-ad- 
din gave  the  signal  and  one  of  the  basest  murders 
in  history  was  accomplished.  The  aged  king  was 
slashed,  thrown  down,  and  beheaded,  and  his  white 
hairs  cast  at  the  feet  of  the  nephew  he  had  trusted. 

‘Although  Ala-ad-din,’  writes  Barani  in  just  hor- 
ror, ‘ reigned  successfully  for  some  years,  and  all 
things  prospered  to  his  wish,  and  though  he  had 
wives  and  children,  family  and  adherents,  wealth 
and  grandeur,  still  he  did  not  escape  retribution  for 
the  blood  of  his  patron.  He  shed  more  innocent 
blood  than  ever  Pharaoh  was  guilty  of.  Fate  at 
length  placed  a betrayer  in  his  path,  by  whom  his 
family  was  destroyed,  and  the  retribution  that  fell 
upon  it  never  had  a parallel  in  any  infidel  land.’ 
Anxious  as  the  historian  is  to  vindicate  the  justice 
of  heaven,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  was  slow  to 
take  effect.  P'or  twenty  years  Ala-ad-din  ruled  Hin- 
dustan with  unprecedented  vigour,  and  broadened 
the  borders  of  his  kingdom.  He  had  already  a rep- 
utation as  a soldier,  and  found  no  opposition  worth 
mentioning  to  his  accession.  The  ‘ Queen  of  the 
World’  (Malika-i-Jahan),  widow  of  Firoz,  a woman 
who  is  described  as  ‘ the  silliest  of  the  silly,’  did 
indeed  set  up  one  of  his  sons  as  king  at  Delhi;  but 


94 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Ibrahim  ’ was  a mere  stripling,  and  his  more  capable 
brother  Arkali  Khan  was  away  in  Multan.  The 
whole  family  were  secured  under  promise  of  safety, 
and  once  caught  were  blinded  and  shut  up.  The 
mouths  of  the  people  were  closed  with  gold.  As 
Ala-ad-din  marched  to  Delhi,  a catapult  showered 
pounds  of  ‘ gold  stars  ’ among  the  crowd  at  every 
halt.  Recruits  flocked  to  such  a Pactolian  stream, 
and  before  he  reached  the  capital  he  had  a following 
of  56,000  horse  and  60,000  foot.  The  officers  and 
nobles  of  the  late  king,  to  their  credit,  wavered  be- 
fore they  threw  in  their  lot  with  his  assassin  ; but 
gold  and  numbers  told  in  the  end. 

In  November,  1296,  Ala-ad-din  entered  Delhi  un- 
opposed, seated  himself  with  all  pomp  upon  the 
throne,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  Red  Palace. 
His  politic  conciliation  of  the  late  king’s  officers  was 
abandoned  as  soon  as  the  royal  family  were  safely 
caged ; but  the  new  sultan’s  wrath  curiously  fell 
upon  those  of  the  officials  and  nobles  who  had  de- 
serted Firoz  and  taken  his  murderer’s  money.  All 
these  were  arrested  and  locked  up.  ‘ Some  were 
blinded  and  some  were  killed.  The  wealth  which 
they  had  received  from  Ala-ad-din,  and  their  pro- 
perty, goods,  and  effects  were  all  seized.  Their 
houses  were  confiscated  to  the  sultan,  and  their 
villages  were  brought  into  the  public  exchequer. 
Nothing  was  left  to  their  children  ; their  retainers 
and  followers  were  taken  in  charge  by  the  amirs 
who  supported  the  new  regime,  and  their  establish- 

■ He  occupied  the  throne  long  enough  to  issue  coins.  See  Lane- 
POOLE,  Catalogue  of  Indian  Coins;  Sultans  of  Delhi,  pp.  37,  38. 


DECCAN  CONQUESTS 


95 


ments  were  overthrown.’  The  only  three  of  the 
officers  of  Firoz  who  were  spared  were  three  who 
had  never  abandoned  him  nor  taken  gold  from  his 
supplanter.  ‘They  alone  remained  safe,  but  all  the 
other  Jalali  nobles  were  cut  up  root  and  branch.’ ' It 
was  a lesson  for  turn-coats. 

Sultan  Ala-ad-din,  who  entered  upon  his  reign 
with  these  trenchant  measures,  was  first  and  fore- 


GOLD  COIN  OF  ALA-AD-DIN,  STRUCK  AT  DF.LHI,  A.H.  698 
(a.d.  1298-9). 


most  a soldier.  So  illiterate  was  he  that  he  did  not 
even  know  how  to  read.  But  he  knew  how  to  com- 
mand an  army  and  to  carry  it  through  an  arduous 
campaign.  Shortly  before  the  murder  of  his  uncle 
he  had  won  great  glory  by  his  conquests  in  the  Dec- 
can.  Hitherto  the  utmost  stretch  of  the  kingdom 
of  Delhi  had  been  across  the  plains  from  the  Indus 
to  Bengal,  and  from  the  Himalayas  to  the  Vindhya 
mountains.  No  Mohammedan  ruler  had  ventured 

’ We  have  the  details  of  this  period  from  Ziya-ad-din  Barani,  whose 
father  and  uncle  were  both  in  Ala-ad-din’s  employ,  the  one  as  deputy 
at  Baran,  the  other  at  Karra  and  Oudh.  The  historian  had  thus 
ample  means  of  information  ; nevertheless  he  is  not  always  trust- 
worthy. 


96 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


to  cross  the  Narbada  river  and  the  Satpura  hills  into 
the  great  plateau  of  southern  India — Maharashtra, 
the  land  of  the  Marathas,  the  seat  of  ancient  mon- 
archies and  of  strange  tongues.  In  1294  however, 
after  successfully  dealing  with  insurrections  in  Ban- 
delkhand  and  Malwa,  Prince  Ala-ad-din  set  out  with 
eight  thousand  men  from  his  government  of  Karra 
on  the  Jumna,  bent  upon  more  ambitious  schemes. 
Forcing  his  way  through  the  forests  of  the  Vindhya 
range,  by  difficult  passes,  and  ill-provided  with  men 
or  supplies,  the  prince  carried  his  small  force  700 
miles  to  Devagiri,  the  capital  of  the  Maratha  raja, 
which  he  took  and  pillaged  unresisted.  He  had 
given  out  that  he  had  quarrelled  with  his  uncle  the 
sultan  of  Delhi  and  was  seeking  service  with  one  of 
the  southern  rajas.  The  ruler  of  Devagiri  was  taken 
by  surprise  and  fled  to  one  of  the  hill  forts.  Here, 
by  another  lie.  Ala-ad-din  procured  his  submission 
and  the  cession  of  Elichpur,  and  thus  the  Muslims 
made  their  first  step  into  the  Deccan.  It  was  from 
the  boundless  treasures  won  in  this  campaign  that 
the  conqueror  procured  the  ‘ golden  stars  ’ which 
lighted  his  road  to  Delhi. 

The  way  to  the  south,  thus  opened,  was  never 
again  shut,  though  in  the  earliest  }’ears  of  his  reign 
Ala-ad-din  had  other  work  to  do.  After  the  sup- 
pression of  the  nobles  came  the  invasions  of  those 
human  locusts  the  Mongols,  who  from  1296  to  1305 
made  repeated  incursions  over  the  Indus.  The 
worst  of  these  was  in  1297,  when  Kutlugh  Khwaja, 
starting  from  the  Oxus  and  coming  down  the  passes, 
marched  upon  Delhi,  driving  before  him  such  a 


THE  MONGOLS  IN  INDIA 


97 


crowd  of  fugitives  that  the  streets  were  blocked  and 
a state  of  famine  prevailed.  The  capital  was  in  no 
condition  for  defence  ; but  when  urged  to  temporize 
with  the  enemy,  the  sultan  indignantly  refused  : ‘ If  I 
were  to  follow  your  advice,’  he  said,  ‘ how  could  I show 
my  face,  how  go  into  my  harim,  what  store  would  the 
people  set  by  me,  and  where  would  be  the  daring  and 
courage  needed  to  keep  down  my  own  turbulent 
subjects?  No  : come  what  may,  to-morrow  I march 
into  the  plain  of  Kili.’  There,  at  a short  distance 
from  Delhi,  he  found  200,000  Mongols  drawn  up. 
The  sultan’s  right  wing  under  his  gallant  general 
Zafar  Khan,  who  had  lately  taken  Siwistan  from  the 
Mongols  by  a brilliant  cou/>  de  main,  broke  the 
enemy’s  left  and  pursued  them  off  the  field  for  many 
miles,  mowing  them  down  at  every  stride.  But  the 
left,  under  Ulugh  Khan,  the  sultan’s  brother,  jeal- 
ously refused  to  support  him,  and  Zafar  was  cut  off 
by  an  ambush.  Despising  the  Mongol  leader’s  offer 
of  quarter,  he  shot  his  last  arrows,  killing  an  enemy 
at  every  twang  of  the  bow,  and  was  then  surrounded 
and  slain.  Though  the  right  wing  of  the  Delhi  army 
was  thus  rashly  but  gallantly  lost,  its  valour  was  not 
thrown  away.  The  Mongols  had  seen  enough  of 
the  Indian  horsemen,  and  in  the  night  they  vanished. 

The  Mongol  inroads  and  the  long  establishment 
of  these  nomads  on  the  frontier  led  to  the  settle- 
ment of  many  of  the  strangers  in  India,  and  their 
quarters  at  Delhi  became  known  as  Mughalpur  or 
Mongol-town.  They  adopted  Islam  and  were  called 
‘the  new  Muslims.’  Their  fate  was  miserable. 
They  were  kept  in  great  poverty,  and  eventually 

7 


98 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


became  a danger  to  the  state.  A conspiracy  among 
them  was  discovered,  and  Ala-ad-din  commanded 
that  the  whole  of  the  ‘ new  Muslims  ’ should  be  de- 
stroyed in  one  day.  The  order  was  carried  out. 
Thirty  to  forty  thousand  wretched  Mongols  were 
killed  in  cold  blood,  their  houses  plundered,  their 
wives  and  children  cast  adrift  on  the  world.  Cruelty 
towards  women  and  children  was  a new  experience 
in  India.  ‘ Up  to  this  time,’  says  Barani,  ‘no  hand 
had  ever  been  laid  upon  wives  or  children  on  account 
of  men’s  misdeeds.’  To  cast  them  into  prison  in 
revenge  for  their  men’s  rebellion  was  one  of  the  un- 
enviable inventions  which  made  ‘ the  crafty  cruelty’ 
of  Ala-ad-din  detested. 

There  was  undoubtedly  a great  deal  of  popular 
ferment,  which  may  well  have  taxed  the  never  easy 
temper  of  the  sultan  and  provoked  severe  retaliation. 
We  read  of  a dangerous  mutiny  of  the  troops  in 
1298,  after  a successful  campaign  in  Gujarat,  where 
the  Hindus  had  again  become  independent.  Their 
raja  was  driven  away  into  the  Deccan,  and  the  idol 
which  had  been  set  up  at  Somnath,  in  the  place  of 
the  linga  destroyed  by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  was  cast 
down  and  carried  to  Delhi  to  be  trodden  under  the 
feet  of  the  faithful.  An  attempt  to  wrest  from  the 
army  the  legal  fifth  of  the  immense  booty  seized  in 
this  campaign  led  to  the  mutiny  ; some  of  the  chief 
officers  were  killed,  including  a nephew  of  the  sultan, 
and  the  soldiers  were  allowed  perforce  to  keep  their 
spoil. 

In  spite  of  such  checks,  the  wealth  and  prosperity 
of  the  sultan  were  unbounded.  To  quote  the  words 


REBELLIONS 


99 


of  the  contemporary  Barani : ‘ In  the  third  year  of 
his  reign  Ala-ad-din  had  little  to  do  beyond  attending 
to  his  pleasures,  giving  feasts,  and  holding  festivals. 
One  success  followed  another  ; dispatches  of  victory 
came  in  from  all  sides  ; every  year  he  had  two  or 
three  sons  born  ; affairs  of  state  went  on  to  his  satis- 
faction, his  treasury  was  overflowing,  boxes  and  cask- 
ets of  jewels  and  pearls  were  daily  displayed  before 
his  eyes,  he  had  numerous  elephants  in  his  stables 
and  seventy  thousand  horses  in  the  city  and  envi- 
rons. . . . All  this  prosperity  intoxicated  him. 

Vast  desires  and  great  aims,  far  beyond  him — or  a 
hundred  thousand  of  his  like, — germinated  in  his 
brain,  and  he  indulged  fancies  which  had  never 
occurred  to  any  king  before  him.  In  his  conceit,  ig- 
norance, and  folly,  he  completely  lost  his  balance, 
formed  utterly  impossible  schemes,  and  cherished 
the  wildest  desires.  He  was  a man  of  no  learning 
and  never  associated  with  men  of  learning.  He  could 
not  read  or  write  a letter.  He  was  bad-tempered, 
obstinate,  and  hard-hearted  ; but  the  world  smiled 
upon  him,  fortune  befriended  him,  and  his  plans  were 
usually  successful,  so  that  he  only  became  the  more 
reckless  and  arrogant.’  He  dreamed  of  emulating 
the  blessed  Prophet  and  founding  a new  religion,  and 
he  contemplated  setting  up  a viceroy  in  Delhi  and 
then  (he  would  say  in  his  cups  at  one  of  his  frequent 
carousals)  ‘ I will  go  forth,  like  Alexander,  in  search 
of  conquest,  and  subdue  the  world.’  He  caused  his 
title  to  be  proclaimed  in  the  Friday  prayers  and  en- 
graved on  coins  and  inscriptions  as  ‘ the  second 
Alexander.’ 


lOO 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


There  were  wiser  men  than  Ala-ad-din,  however,  at 
the  royal  revels,  and  one  of  them,  an  uncle  of  the 
historian  whom  we  have  quoted,  ventured  to  give 
the  sultan  good  advice.  He  counselled  him  to  leave 
religion-making  to  the  prophets,  and  instead  of 
dreaming  of  universal  conquest  to  set  about  reducing 
the  many  cities  and  districts  of  Hindustan — such  as 
Rantambhor,  Chitor,  Chanderi,  Malwa,  Dhar,  Ujjayn 
— which  were  still  in  Hindu  hands  ; to  ‘ close  the  road 
to  Multan  ’ against  the  Mongols  ; and  to  give  up  wine 
and  junketing.  Instead  of  resenting  this  frank  ad- 
vice, the  sultan  promised  to  adopt  it,  and  handsomely 
rewarded  the  honest  counsellor.  The  very  first  step 
towards  mastering  the  still  unsubdued  parts  of  Hin- 
dustan showed  Ala-ad-din  that  he  had  been  living  in 
a fool’s  paradise.  Instead  of  conquering  the  world 
in  the  role  of  Alexander,  he  found  that  the  mere  siege 
of  Rantambhor  taxed  all  his  energies  ; and  whilst  it 
was  dragging  on  for  many  months,  other  events  hap- 
pened which  caused  reflection.  He  was  very  nearly 
assassinated  in  a conspiracy  headed  by  a nephew, 
who,  leaving  the  sultan  for  dead,  sat  himself  upon  the 
throne,  received  the  homage  of  the  nobles,  and  was 
even  about  to  enter  his  uncle’ s harim  when  the  eunuch 
Malik  Dinar  faced  him  at  the  door  and  swore  he 
should  not  go  in  until  he  produced  Ala-ad-din’s  head. 
The  head  all  too  soon  appeared,  set  alertly  as  ever  on 
its  own  shoulders,  as  the  living  sultan  showed  him- 
self to  the  army  on  a neighbouring  knoll.  The  rebel 
Akat  Khan  was  beheaded  instead  of  his  uncle ; the 
conspirators  were  scourged  to  death  with  wire  thongs, 
and  their  wives  and  children  sent  into  captivity. 


REPRESSIVE  MEASURES 


lOI 


Nor  was  this  the  only  sign  of  the  times.  Two  other 
nephews  raised  the  flag  of  insurrection,  and  though 
overpowered  and  cruelly  blinded  in  their  uncle’s 
presence,  their  failure  did  not  discourage  imitation. 
A mad  revolt  broke  out  at  Delhi,  led  by  a slave,  who 
set  up  an  unfortunate  grandson  of  Altamish  as  sultan, 
opened  the  prison  doors,  and  rioted  unchecked  for 
days.  Though  the  revolt  was  more  like  a mum- 
mery of  the  Abbot  of  Unreason  than  a political 
movement,  and  was  suppressed  with  little  difficulty, 
it  showed  the  uneasiness  and  ferment  of  the  people. 
Four  mutinies  or  insurrections  in  a few  months 
pointed  to  something  amiss,  and  the  sultan  deter- 
mined to  find  out  the  causes  of  the  discontent.  Af- 
ter many  consultations  day  and  night  with  his  chief 
counsellors,  it  was  resolved  that  the  main  reasons 
were  to  be  found  in  the  sultan’s  disregard  of  the  do- 
ings of  the  people  ; in  the  prevalence  of  convivial 
meetings  where  open  political  talk  followed  the  wine- 
cup;  in  the  seditious  intimacy  of  the  various  amirs 
and  notables;  and  in  the  fact  that  too  many  people 
had  a superfluity  of  wealth  with  which  they  could 
suborn  adventurers  and  set  revolts  on  foot. 

Whether  these  results  were  really  the  opinions  of 
the  council  or  merely  the  ex  post  facto  deductions  of 
the  historian  who  records  them,  they  were  at  least 
acted  upon  by  the  king.  The  evil  effects  of  too  much 
wealth  among  his  subjects  particularly  impressed 
him  : it  was  a disease  admitting  of  easy  and  gratify- 
ing cure.  ‘The  sultan,’  says  Barani,  ‘ordered  that 
wherever  there  was  a village  held  by  proprietary 
right  ( milk),  in  free  gift  (i/katn),  or  as  a religious 


102 


MEDI.'IZVAL  INDIA 


endowment  ( luakf),  it  should  by  one  stroke  of  the 
pen  be  brought  under  the  exchequer.  The  people 
were  pressed  and  amerced  and  money  was  exacted 
from  them  on  every  kind  of  pretext.  Many  were  left 
without  any  money,  till  at  length  it  came  to  pass  that, 
excepting  maliks  and  amirs,  officials,  Multanis  (i.e., 
large  traders  from  Multan)  and  bankers,  no  one  pos- 
sessed ev'en  a trifle  in  cash.  So  rigorous  was  the  con- 
fiscation that,  beyond  a few  thousand  tankas,  all 
the  pensions,  grants  in  land,  and  endowments  in  the 
country  were  appropriated.  The  people  were  all  so 
absorbed  in  obtaining  the  means  of  living  that  the 
very  name  of  rebellion  was  never  mentioned.’ 

In  the  next  place  he  organized  a universal  system 
of  espionage.  ‘ No  one  could  stir  without  his  know- 
ledge, and  whatever  happened  in  the  houses  of  no- 
bles, great  men,  and  officials,  was  communicated  to 
the  sultan  by  his  reporter.’  Nor  were  the  reports 
shelved  ; they  led  to  unpleasant  explanations.  ‘ The 
system  of  reporting  went  to  such  a length  that  no- 
bles dared  not  speak  aloud  even  in  “ palaces  of  a 
thousand  columns,”  and  if  thej^  had  anything  to  say 
they  communicated  by  signs.  In  their  own  houses, 
night  and  day,  the  reports  of  the  spies  made  them 
tremble.  No  word  or  action  that  could  provoke 
censure  or  punishment  was  allowed  to  escape.  The 
transactions  in  the  bazars,  the  buying  and  selling, 
and  the  bargains  made,  were  all  reported  to  the  sul- 
tan and  were  kept  under  control.’ 

Nor  was  this  all.  Remembering  the  warning  of 
his  counsellors  on  the  political  influences  of  social 
revels,  ‘ he  prohibited  wine-drinking  and  wine-selling 


REPRESSIVE  MEASURES 


103 


as  well  as  the  use  of  beer  and  intoxicating  drugs. 
Dicing  was  also  forbidden.  Many  prohibitions  of 
wine  and  beer  were  issued.  Vintners' and  gamblers 
and  beer-sellers  were  turned  out  of  the  city  ^nd  the 
heavy  taxes  which  had  been  levied  upon  them  were 
abolished  and  lost  to  the  treasury.  The  sultan  di- 
rected that  all  the  china  and  glass  vessels  of  his 
banqueting  room  should  be  broken,  and  the  frag- 
ments of  them  were  thrown  before  the  Badaun  gate, 
where  they  rose  in  a heap.  Jars  and  casks  of  wine 
were  brought  out  of  the  royal  cellars  and  emptied  at 
the  same  gate  in  such  abundance  that  mud  and  mire 
was  produced  as  at  the  rainy  season.’  The  sultan 
himself  renounced  all  wine-drinking,  and  many  of 
the  better  sort  followed  his  example,  but  of  course 
there  was  a great  deal  of  clandestine  bibbing  among 
the  dissolute,  and  these  when  detected  were  thrown 
into  pits  dug  outside  the  Badaun  gate,  where  many 
perished  miserably.  It  was  found  impossible  to 
wholly  suppress  the  use  of  wine,  and  the  sultan  was 
obliged  to  wink  at  a certain  amount  of  drinking, 
provided  that  it  was  private  and  the  liquor  brewed  at 
home  ; but  public  drinking  was  for  the  time  stamped 
out. 

Still  further  to  discourage  conspiracy  and  privy 
understandings,  the  sultan  gave  commands  that 
‘ noblemen  and  grandees  should  not  visit  at  each 
other’s  houses,  or  give  feasts,  or  hold  meetings. 
They  were  forbidden  to  form  alliances  without  con- 
sent from  the  throne  and  they  were  also  prohibited 
from  allowing  people  to  resort  to  their  houses.  To 
such  a length  was  this  last  prohibition  carried  that 


104 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


strangers  could  not  gain  admittance  into  a noble- 
man’s house.  Feasting  and  hospitality  fell  into  total 
disuse.  Through  fear  of  the  spies  the  nobles  kept 
themselves  quiet ; they  gave  no  parties  and  had  lit- 
tle communication  with  each  other.  No  man  of  a 
seditious,  rebellious,  or  evil  reputation  was  allowed 
to  come  near  them.  If  they  went  to  the  palaces, 
they  could  not  lay  their  heads  together  and  sit  down 
cosily  and  tell  each  other  their  troubles.’  ’ 

Besides  this  more  than  Russian  system  of  espion- 
age among  the  Muslims,  great  and  small,  the  sul- 
tan devised  special  measures  against  his  Hindu 
subjects.  The  Hindu  was  to  be  so  reduced  as  to 
be  left  unable  to  keep  a horse  to  ride  on,  to  carry 
arms,  to  wear  fine  clothes,  or  to  enjoy  any  of  the 
luxuries  of  life.  He  was  taxed  to  the  extent  of  half 
the  produce  of  his  land,  and  had  to  pay  duties  on 
all  his  buffaloes,  goats,  and  other  milch-cattle.  The 
taxes  were  to  be  levied  equally  on  rich  and  poor,  at 
so  much  per  acre,  so  much  per  animal.  Any  col- 
lectors or  officers  taking  bribes  were  summarily  dis- 
missed and  heavily  punished  ‘ with  sticks,  pincers, 
the  rack,  imprisonment  and  chains.’  The  new  rules 
were  strictly  carried  out,  so  that  one  revenue  officer 
would  string  together  twenty  Hindu  notables  and 
enforce  payment  by  blows.  No  gold  or  silver,  not 
even  the  betel  nut,  so  cheering  and  stimulative  to 
pleasure,  was  to  be  seen  in  a Hindu  house,  and  the 
wives  of  the  impoverished  native  officials  were 
reduced  to  taking  service  in  Muslim  families. 

* B.araxi,  Tarikh-i  - Firoz- Shahi,  Elliot  and  Dowson,  iii, 

l8i-i88. 


PERSECUTION  OF  HINDUS 


105 


Revenue  officers  came  to  be  regarded  as  more 
deadly  than  the  plague  ; and  to  be  a government 
clerk  was  a disgrace  worse  than  death,  insomuch 
that  no  Hindu  would  marry  his  daughter  to  such 
a man. 

All  these  new  enactments  were  promulgated  with- 
out any  reference  to  the  legal  authorities.  Ala-ad- 
din  held  that  government  was  one  thing  and  law 
another,  and  so  long  as  what  he  ordered  seemed  to 
him  good  he  did  not  stop  to  inquire  whether  it  was 
according  to  law.  One  day  however  he  saw  the 
learned  kazi  of  Biana  at  court,  and  addressing  him 
said  he  had  some  questions  to  ask  to  which  he  re- 
quired truthful  replies.  ‘The  angel  of  my  fate 
seems  to  be  at  hand,’  cried  the  kazi  in  alarm,  ‘ since 
your  Majesty  wishes  to  question  me  on  matters  of 
religion  ’—that  is,  religious  law.  The  sultan  promised 
not  to  kill  him,  and  a curious  conversation  ensued. 

Ala-ad-din  wished  first  to  know  the  legal  position 
of  Hindus,  and  the  kazi  replied  ‘They  are  called 
payers  of  tribute  {kharaj  ghuzar),  and  when  the 
revenue  officer  demands  silver  from  them,  they 
should,  without  question  and  with  all  humility  and 
respect,  tender  gold.  If  the  officer  throws  dirt  (or 
spits)  into  their  mouths,  they  must  unreluctantly  open 
their  mouths  wide  to  receive  it.  By  doing  so  they 
show  their  respect  for  the  officer.  The  due  submis- 
sion of  the  non-Muslims  {zimmi)  is  exhibited  in  this 
humble  payment  and  by  this  throwing  of  dirt  into 
their  mouths.  The  glorification  of  Islam  is  a duty, 
and  contempt  of  the  Religion  is  vain.  God  holds 
them  in  contempt,  for  He  says  “ keep  them  under  in 


io6 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


subjection.”  To  keep  the  Hindus  in  abasement  is 
especially  a religious  duty,  because  they  are  the 
most  inveterate  enemies  of  the  Prophet.’ 

The  sultan  said  that  he  did  not  understand  a 
word  of  the  learned  man’s  argument,  but  he  had 
taken  his  measures  to  reduce  the  pride  of  the 
Hindus,  and  had  succeeded  in  making  them  so 
obedient  that  ‘at  my  command  they  are  ready  to 
creep  into  holes  like  mice.’  ‘ O Doctor,’  he  went 
on,  ‘ thou  art  a learned  man,  but  hast  no  experience 
of  the  world.  I am  an  unlettered  man,  but  I have 
seen  a great  deal.  Be  assured  then  that  the  Hindus 
will  never  become  submissive  and  obedient  till  they 
are  reduced  to  poverty.  I have  therefore  given 
orders  that  just  sufficient  shall  be  left  to  them 
from  year  to  year  of  corn,  milk,  and  curds,  but  that 
they  shall  not  be  allowed  to  accumulate  hoards  of 
property.’ 

So  far  the  law  and  the  sultan  were  not  at  variance. 
When  they  spoke  of  the  punishment  of  corrupt  rev- 
enue officers,  there  was  still  not  much  difference; 
but  when  the  sultan  touched  upon  the  delicate  ques- 
tion of  his  own  claim  upon  war-booty  and  upon  the 
public  treasury,  the  kazi  said,  ‘ The  time  of  my  death 
is  at  hand.  If  I answer  your  question  honestly  you 
will  slay  me,  and  if  I give  an  untrue  reply  I shall 
hereafter  go  to  hell.’  Nevertheless  he  spoke  out 
boldly  and  told  Ala-ad-din  that  all  treasure  won  by 
the  armies  of  Islam  belonged  to  the  public  treasury 
and  not  to  the  sultan,  and  that  if  he  wished  to  follow 
the  highest  example  of  the  most  enlightened  caliphs 
he  would  draw  no  more  from  the  treasury  for  him- 


ALA-AD-DIN'S  POLICY 


107 


self  and  his  family  and  establishment  than  was  al- 
lotted to  each  fighting  man  in  the  army.  This  reply 
excited  the  sultan’s  wrath  and  he  said  ‘ Dost  thou 
not  fear  my  sword,  when  thou  tellest  me  that  all  my 
great  expenditure  on  my  harim  is  unlawful?’  The 
kazi  replied,  ‘ I do  fear  your  Majesty’s  sword,  and  I 
look  upon  this  turban  as  my  winding  sheet;  but 
your  Majesty  questions  me  about  the  law,  and  I an- 
swer to  the  best  of  my  ability.  If  however  you  ask 
my  advice  in  a political  point  of  view,  then  I say  that 
whatever  your  Majesty  spends  upon  your  harim  no 
doubt  tends  to  raise  your  dignity  in  the  eyes  of 
men  ; and  the  exaltation  of  a king’s  dignity  is  essen- 
tial to  good  policy.’ 

After  many  questions  and  answers,  the  sultan  said 
to  the  kazi,  ‘ You  have  declared  my  proceedings  in 
these  matters  to  be  unlawful.  Now  see  how  I act. 
When  troopers  do  not  appear  at  the  muster,  I order 
three  years’  pay  to  be  taken  from  them.  I place  wine- 
drinkers  and  wine-sellers  in  the  pits.  If  a man  de- 
bauches another  man’s  wife  I effectually  prevent  him 
from  again  committing  such  an  offence  and  the  wo- 
man I cause  to  be  killed.  Rebels,  good  and  bad,  old 
hands  or  novices,  I slay  ; their  wives  and  children  I 
reduce  to  beggary  and  ruin.  Extortion  I punish 
with  the  torture  of  the  pincers  and  the  stick,  and  I 
keep  the  extortioner  in  prison,  in  chains  and  fetters, 
until  every  halfpenny  is  restored.  Political  prison- 
ers I confine  and  chastise.  Wilt  thou  say  all  this  is 
unlawful  ? ’ 

Then  the  kazi  rose  and  went  to  the  entrance  of  the 
room,  placed  his  forehead  on  the  ground,  and  cried 


io8 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


with  a loud  voice, — ‘ My  liege,  send  your  unworthy 
servant  to  prison,  or  order  me  to  be  cut  in  two,  but 
all  this  is  unlawful  and  finds  no  support  in  the  say- 
ings of  the  Prophet  or  in  the  expositions  of  the 
learned.’  The  sultan  said  nothing,  but  put  on  his 
slippers  and  went  into  his  hariin.  The  kazi  went 
home,  took  a last  farewell  of  his  famil)^,  and  per- 
formed the  ablutions  required  in  one  about  to  die. 
Then  he  bravely  returned  to  court  ; when  to  his 
amazement  the  sultan  gave  him  his  own  robe  and 
a thousand  tankas,  with  these  words,  ‘ Although  I 
have  not  studied  the  Science  or  the  Book,  I am  a 
Muslim  of  a Muslim  stock.  To  prevent  rebellion,  in 
which  thousands  perish,  I issue  such  orders  as  I con- 
ceive to  be  for  the  good  of  the  state  and  the  benefit 
of  the  people.  Men  are  heedless,  contumacious,  and 
disobedient  to  my  commands.  I am  then  compelled 
to  be  severe  to  bring  them  into  obedience.  I do  not 
know  whether  this  is  lawful  or  unlawful : whatever  I 
think  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  state  or  opportune 
for  the  emergency,  that  I decree.’ 

We  have  given  most  of  Barani’s  account  of  this 
interview  and  of  Ala-ad-din’s  methods  of  administra- 
tion because  they  present  a valuable  picture  of  Mus- 
lim rule  in  India,  and  such  intimate  views  are  rare 
in  Eastern  chronicles.  The  historian  may  perhaps 
have  described  what  he  himself  thought  rather  than 
what  the  sultan  or  the  kazi  really  said ; but  as  his  re- 
lations were  officials  in  Ala-ad-din’s  service,  he  had 
good  means  of  knowing  the  truth.  The  sultan  did 
not  stop  at  repressive  measures : he  interfered  with 
trade,  and  even  meddled  with  the  laws  of  supply  and 


MONGOL  ATTACKS 


109 


demand.  The  occasion  for  these  innovations  was 
presented  by  an  external  danger.  Another  invasion 
of  the  Mongols  in  1303,  when  they  again  threatened 
Delhi,  camped  on  the  Jumna,  blocked  the  roads,  and 
occupied  the  suburbs  for  two  months,  alarmed  the 
sultan.  The  Mongols  retired  without  taking  the  capi- 
tal, but  not  on  account  of  any  success  of  the  Indian 
army.  Never  in  fact  had  Delhi  been  less  protected. 
The  sultan  had  just  returned  from  taking  the  Raj- 
put stronghold  of  Chitor,  the  siege  of  which  in  the 
rainy  season  had  almost  prostrated  his  troops.  A 
second  army  sent  to  the  Deccan  to  conquer  Waran- 
gal  in  the  same  unfavourable  season  had  suffered  even 
more  severely,  and  returned  diminished  and  discour- 
aged. There  was  no  force  at  his  command  capable 
of  meeting  the  Mongols  in  the  field,  and  their  de- 
parture without  conquering  the  capital  was  regarded 
as  nothing  less  than  a miracle. 

This  narrow  escape  concentrated  Ala-ad-din’s  care 
upon  his  defences.  Abandoning  for  the  time  all 
thought  of  further  conquest,  he  settled  himself  at 
his  new  palace-fortress  of  Siri — one  of  the  royal  sub- 
urbs which,  like  Kilughari,  afterwards  ‘ Newtown,’ 
(Shahr-i-nau),  were  growing  up  round  the  capital 
— and  set  to  work  at  preparations  for  repelling 
attack.  He  repaired  and  added  to  the  forts  of 
Delhi,  constructed  siege-engines,  stone-slings  and 
mangonels,  collected  arms  and  stores.  Strong  gar- 
risons were  placed  at  Samana  and  Dipalpur,  which 
had  become  the  Muslim  outposts  on  the  threatened 
north-west  frontier — ^ for  the  Mongols  still  practi- 
cally held  the  Panjab— and  tried  generals  were  set 


I lO 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


in  command  of  all  the  posts  on  the  Mongol  track. 
The  main  difficulty  was  how  to  increase  the  army 
and  maintain  it  in  efficient  order, — well-mounted, 
well-armed,  well- trained,  and  well  - supplied  with 
archers.  The  pay  of  the  soldier  was  fixed  at 


THE  GATEWAY  OF  ALA-AD-DIN  IN  THE  MOSQUE  AT  DELHI. 

234  tankas  (nearly  ;^24),  with  an  addition  of  78 
tankas  for  those  who  contributed  two  horses. 
In  order  to  enable  the  soldier  to  live  on  this 
pay,  support  his  family,  and  furnish  himself  with 
horses  and  arms,  the  sultan  ventured  upon  experi- 
ments in  political  economy.  He  resolved  to  keep 


THE  NEW  TARIFF 


III 


down  the  cost  of  necessaries,  and  enacted  that 
thenceforth  there  should  be  a fixed  price  for  food. 
The  principal  items  were  thus  fixed  in  the  new  tariff : 
Wheat,  J^jitals  (nearly  3d)  per  man  (about  a quarter, 
28  lbs.);  barley,  i^d  ; rice,  2d  ; pulse,  2d  ; lentil,  id. 
This  scale  of  prices  was  maintained  as  long  as 
Ala-ad-din  lived.  As  a matter  of  fact  it  may  be 
taken  to  represent  the  average  open  market  price 
in  country  towns,  and  the  sultan’s  measures  were 
evidently  intended  to  counteract  the  tendency  to 
inflated  prices  at  the  metropolis  caused  by  an  inade- 
quate supply  of  provisions. 

To  increase  this  supply  and  encourage  larger 
importation  he  gave  orders  that  the  ‘ Khalisa  ’ or 
crown  villages  of  the  Doab  and  some  other  parts 
should  pay  their  taxes  in  kind,  and  with  these  con- 
tributions he  accumulated  vast  stores  of  grain  in 
Delhi,  from  which  in  times  of  scarcity  corn  was  sold 
at  the  tariff  price  to  the  inhabitants.  The  carriers 
of  the  kingdom  were  registered,  and  encouraged  to 
bring  corn  from  the  villages  at  the  fixed  price.  Any 
attempts  at  regrating  or  holding  up  corn  and  selling 
at  enhanced  prices  were  sternly  put  down.  Inspectors 
watched  the  markets,  and  if  prices  rose  by  so  much 
as  a farthing  the  overseer  received  twenty  stripes 
with  a stick  ; the  offence  seldom  recurred.  Short 
weight  was  checked  by  the  effectual  method  of 
carving  from  the  hams  of  the  unjust  dealer  a piece 
of  flesh  equivalent  to  the  deficit  in  the  weight  of 
what  he  had  sold.  Everything  was  set  down  in  the 
tariff ; vegetables,  fruits,  sugar,  oil,  horses,  slaves, 
caps,  shoes,  combs,  and  needles  ; and  we  learn  that  a 


I 12 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


serving  girl  cost  5 to  I2  tankas,  a concubine  20  to 
40,  slave  labourers  10  to  15,  handsome  pages  20  to 
30,  and  so  forth. 

These  various  measures  show  that  the  sultan, 
though  he  might  be  wrong-headed  and  disdainful  of 
the  law,  was  a man  of  sense  and  determination,  who 
knew  his  own  mind,  saw  the  necessities  of  the  situa- 
tion, met  them  by  his  own  methods,  and  carried  out 
those  methods  with  persistence.  They  were  undoubt- 
edly successful.  We  hear  of  no  more  rebellions,  and 
when  ne.xt  the  Mongols  tried  issues  with  the  sul- 
tan’s new  army  they  were  effectually  defeated.  ‘ The 
armies  of  Islam  were  everywhere  triumphant  over 
them.  Many  thousands  were  taken  prisoners,  and 
were  brought  with  ropes  round  their  necks  to  Delhi, 
where  they  were  cast  under  the  feet  of  elephants. 
Their  heads  were  piled  up  into  pyramids  or  built  into 
towers.’  It  is  related  in  sober  fact  that  the  blood  and 
bones  of  the  Mongols  formed  part  of  the  building 
materials  of  the  new  walls  and  gates  and  defences  with 
which  the  sultan  improved  the  capital.’  On  one  of  the 
occasions  of  a Mongol  inroad  not  a man  went  back 
alive,  and  the  enemy  ‘ conceived  such  a fear  and 
dread  of  the  army  of  Islam  that  all  fancy  for  coming 
to  Hindustan  was  washed  out  of  their  breasts.  All 
fear  of  the  Mongols  entirely  departed  from  Delhi 
and  the  neighbouring  provinces.  Perfect  security 
was  everywhere  felt,  and  the  rayats  carried  on  their 
agriculture  in  peace.”  This  was  largely  due  to  the 

' It  was  after  these  repeated  successes  that  the  unfortunate  Mongols 
who  had  settled  in  the  suburbs  of  Delhi  were  massacred  in  Mughalpur 
as  related  above.  Barani,  1.  c,,  iii,  igg. 


DECCAN  CONQUESTS 


II3 

successful  frontier  fighting  of  Ghazi  Malik,  afterwards 
Sultan  Taghlak,  the  governor  of  the  Panjab,  a worthy 
successor  of  Sher  Khan. 

Freed  by  these  reforms  from  the  fear  of  conspiracy 
and  invasion,  Sultan  Ala-ad-din  resumed  his  plans  of 
conquest.  He  had  reduced  two  great  Hindu  for- 
tresses, Rantambhor  and  Chitor,  though  at  enormous 
cost.  He  now  turned  again  towards  the  Deccan.  An 
army  under  Malik  Kafur  Hazardinari  (the*  five- 
hundred  guinea  man’),  a handsome  castrato  who 
had  fascinated  the  sultan,  was  sent  in  1308  to  recover 
Devagiri,  where  the  Yadava  ruler,  Rama  Deva  had 
reasserted  his  independence  and  neglected  to  pay  the 
tribute  he  promised  at  the  time  of  Ala-ad-din’s  con- 
quest fifteen  years  before.  The  campaign  was  suc- 
cessful. Kafur,  assisted  by  the  muster-master  Khwaja 
Hajji,  laid  the  country  waste,  took  much  booty,  and 
brought  the  rebel  Hindu  and  his  sons  to  Delhi.  The 
sultan  treated  the  captive  raja  with  all  honour,  gave 
him  a royal  canopy  and  the  style  of  ‘ Kings  of  Kings,’ 
and  presenting  him  with  a lac  of  tankas  (Y' 10,000) 
sent  him  back  to  govern  Devagiri  as  his  vassal. 

In  the  following  year  Kafur  and  Hajji  were  dis- 
patched on  a more  ambitious  errand : they  were 
ordered  to  take  the  fort  of  Warangal,  in  Telingana, 
towards  the  eastern  Ghats,  the  capital  of  the  Kaka- 
tiya  rajas.  On  the  march  through  his  territories 
Rama  Deva  displayed  the  dutiful  behaviour  of  a 
rayat,  assisted  the  army  in  every  way,  and  contri- 
buted a contingent  of  Marathas,  thus  justifying  the 
sultan’s  confidence.  The  mud  fort  of  Warangal  was 
taken  by  assault,  the  stone  fort  was  invested,  and 


114 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


the  raja  surrendered  his  treasures  and  agreed  to  pay 
tribute.  Kafur  returned  to  Delhi  with  a booty  of  a 
hundred  elephants,  7,000  horses,  and  quantities  of 
jewels.  In  1 3 10  the  same  generals  pushed  their  way 
to  the  Malabar  coast,  took  the  old  capital  of  Dvara- 
samudra,  almost  as  far  south  as  Mysore,  destroyed 
the  great  temple  of  the  golden  idols  in  Ma'bar,’ 
bringing  home  in  the  early  part  of  1311  no  less  than 
612  elephants,  20,000  horses,  coffers  of  precious 
stones  and  pearls,  and  96,000  mans  of  gold,  which, 
taking  the  man  at  no  more  than  ^ cwt.,  amounts  to 
1200  tons  of  gold.  Considering  the  vast  wealth  of 
the  Hindu  shrines,  which  had  never  before  been 
despoiled  in  the  Deccan,  the  sum,  though  doubtless 
exaggerated,  is  not  absolutely  incredible.  The 
treasure  was  brought  to  the  palace  of  Siri,  and  the 
sultan  presented  the  officers  of  the  fortunate  cam- 
paign with  gifts  of  gold  by  the  hundredweight. 
The  rajas  of  Devagiri  and  Warangal  paid  their  trib- 

' Kafur  founded  a mosque  on  the  coast.  If  it  was  the  same  mosque 
‘ built  by  the  officers  of  Sultan  Ala-ad-din  ’ at  ‘ Seet  Bunda  Ramessar,’ 
which  Firishta  says  was  repaired  by  the  Bahmanid  Sultan  Mujahid 
about  1378,  it  must  have  been  on  the  Malabar  or  west  coast  of  India. 
‘ Ramessar  ’ cannot  be  Ramesvara,  which  is  on  the  Coromandel  coast 
opposite  Ceylon.  Cape  Ramas,  south  of  Goa,  as  suggested  by 
Briggs,  seems  a more  probable  identification.  Ma‘bar,  which  Was- 
saf  defines  as  e.\tending  from  Kulam  (Quilon)  to  Nila  war  (Nileswara) 
has  usually  been  identified  with  the  Coromandel  or  east  coast.  But 
this  Persian  traveller,  who  wrote  about  1300,  not  only  defines 
Ma'bar  as  above  stated,  but  describes  it  immediately  after  Gujarat, 
and  states  that  Persian  horses  were  exported  ‘ to  Ma'bar,  Kambayat 
(Cambay),  and  other  ports  in  their  neighbourhood’  (Elliot  and 
Dowson,  iii,  33).  The  fact  that  Kafur  marched  on  to  Ma'bar  from 
Dvara-samudra  agrees  with  Wassaf’s  definition. 


KAFUR 


II5 


ute,  and  the  northern  part  of  the  Deccan  acknow- 
ledged the  suzerainty  of  Delhi. 

This  was  the  climax  of  Ala-ad-din’s  reign.  He 
had  done  much.  The  Mongols  were  no  longer  the 
terror  of  the  Panjab.  The  army  was  never  stronger, 
as  its  victories  in  the  Deccan  proved,  and  never 
cheaper,  owing  to  the  regulated  price  of  provisions. 
Rebellion  had  ceased  to  raise  its  head,  and  the  se- 
verity of  its  repression  had  procured  a security  to 
the  agriculturist  and  safety  of  the  roads  such  as  had 
never  been  known  before.  The  control  of  the  mar- 
kets not  only  insured  cheap  food  at  the  capital  but 
honest  dealing,  according  to  Barani, — but  the  eulogy 
is  probably  relative.  Temperance  had  been  forced 
upon  the  people,  and,  with  the  example  of  the  sober 
court,  men  of  learning  and  piety  abounded.  Such 
results  testify  to  the  greatness  of  a remarkable  king. 

The  inevitable  and  swift  reaction  came  from  the 
sultan’s  own  faults,  exaggerated  by  an  increasing  dis- 
ease. His  violent  temper  led  him  to  displace  expe- 
rienced governors;  his  infatuation  for  Kafur  bred 
envy  and  disunion  and  caused  the  death  or  imprison- 
ment of  trusted  counsellors.  His  sons,  prematurely 
emancipated  from  the  .schoolroom,  took  to  drink  and 
debauchery.  The  disputes  of  the  nobles  and  the 
riotous  behaviour  of  the  heir  encouraged  revolts  on 
all  sides.  In  the  midst  of  the  confusion  Ala-ad-din 
died  (January,  1316)  of  a dropsy.  A bloody  and 
unscrupulous  tyrant,  none  may  refuse  him  the  title 
of  a strong  and  capable  ruler. 

The  death  of  the  strong  man  was  followed  by  the 
results  too  common  in  Eastern  history.  There  was 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


1 16 

no  one  fit  to  stand  in  his  place.  The  favourite  Kafur 
seized  upon  the  government,  and  set  up  Shihab-ad- 
din  Omar,  a child  of  six  years,  on  his  father’s  throne. 
Two  elder  sons  of  the  late  king  were  deprived  of 
sight  with  atrocious  cruelty.  The  chief  queen  was 
robbed  and  turned  out  of  the  palace.  The  miscreant 
was  even  plotting  a general  massacre  of  the  great 
nobles,  when  one  night  some  foot  soldiers  fortunately 
contrived  to  murder  him  in  his  bedroom.  His  re- 
gency had  lasted  scarcely  more  than  five  weeks. 
Another  son  of  Ala-ad-din,  after  acting  for  a few 
months  as  governor  over  his  infant  brother,  sent  him 
away  blinded,  and  took  the  throne  himself  in  April, 
1316,  with  the  title  of  Kutb-ad-din  Mubarak  Shah. 

No  more  violent  contrast  to  the  stern  and  capable 
father  could  be  imagined.  Mubarak  was  an  easy- 
going  good-tempered  youth  of  seventeen,  the  slav'^e 
of  his  own  pleasures,  and  everything  reverted  to  the 
old  lax  way.  The  genial  new  king  opened  the  gaols 
and  let  seventeen  thousand  prisoners  loose ; pre- 
sented the  army  with  six  months’  pay  ; distributed 
his  largesse  and  grants  promiscuously.  All  the  new 
taxes  and  penalties  were  abolished,  and  all  dread  of 
the  sultan  and  of  the  revenue  ofificer’s  scourge  van- 
ished. ‘ Men  were  no  longer  in  doubt  and  fear 
of  hearing  “Do  this,  but  don’t  do  that;  say  this, 
but  don’t  say  that  ; hide  this,  but  don’t  hide  that ; 
eat  this,  but  don’t  eat  that ; sell  such  as  this, 
but  don’t  sell  things  like  that ; act  like  this, 
but  don’t  act  like  that.”  ’ Everjmne  took  his  ease 
and  indulged  his  tastes,  like  his  sovereign.  The 
wine-shops  were  re-opened  and  all  the  world  drank. 


THE  RULE  OF  THE  PARIAH  11/ 

Prices  went  up,  the  new  tariff  was  forgotten,  and  the 
bazar  people,  rejoicing  at  the  death  of  their  perse- 
cutor, cheated  and  fleeced  as  they  listed.  Labourers’ 
wages  rose  twenty-five  per  cent.;  bribery,  extortion, 
and  peculation  flourished.  The  Hindus,  relieved  of 
the  recent  exactions,  were  ‘ beside  themselves  with 
joy.  They  who  had  plucked  the  green  ears  of  corn 
because  they  could  not  get  bread,  who  had  not  a 
decent  garment,  and  had  been  so  harassed  and  beaten 
that  they  had  not  even  time  to  scratch  their  heads, 
now  put  on  fine  apparel,  rode  on  horseback,  and 
shot  their  arrows.’  In  short  everyone  did  as  he 
pleased  and  enjoyed  himself  to  the  full,  and  India 
was  her  old  happy-go-lucky  self  again. 

The  sultan  set  his  subjects  a bad  example.  Utterly 
careless  and  unspeakably  depraved,  he  threw  himself 
heart  and  soul  into  all  the  wretchlessness  of  unclean 
living.  Openly  by  night  and  by  day  he  displayed 
his  contempt  for  decency.  So  eager  was  the  demand 
at  court  for  mistresses  that  the  price  of  a pretty  girl, 
who  could  be  bought  in  the  late  reign  for  a couple  of 
pounds,  ran  up  to  as  much  as  £200.  Like  his  father 
the  young  sultan  had  a vile  favourite,  a Hindu  Par- 
wani,  a pariah  of  the  lowest  class  from  Gujarat, 
whom  he  styled  Khusru  Khan,  and  under  his  cor- 
rupt influence  Mubarak  became  more  shameless 
than  ever:  his  very  speech  became  foul  and  obscene, 
he  tricked  himself  in  woman’s  clothes,  and  let  his 
major  domo  indulge  his  horseplay  upon  the  nobles  in 
full  court  stark  naked.  No  more  was  the  sultan  seen 
at  the  public  prayers  in  the  mosque  of  his  fore- 
fathers ; the  fast  of  Ramazan  was  openly  violated. 


ii8 


medieval  ind/a 


With  this  wholesale  abandonment  of  religion  and 
morals  the  reckless  youth’s  temper  began  to  show 
the  ferocity  of  his  vindictive  father.  When  Hari- 
pala  Deva,  the  son  of  the  late  Rama  Deva,  rebelled 
at  Devagiri,  Mubarak  had  him  flayed  alive.  When 
the  king’s  cousin  Asad-ad-din,  indignant  at  the  way 
things  were  going,  got  up  a conspiracy  and  was  be- 
trayed, not  only  were  the  plotters  beheaded  in  front 
of  the  royal  tent,  but  twenty-nine  young  brothers  of 
the  leader,  children  wholly  innocent  of  the  plot, 
were  slaughtered  like  sheep,  and  the  women  of  the 
family  were  turned  out  homeless  into  the  streets. 
His  own  brothers  did  not  escape  his  fury.  Three  of 
them,  including  the  ex-child-king,  were  in  the  fort  of 
Gwaliar,  blinded  and  helpless.  All  three  were  mur- 
dered. The  governor  of  Gujarat  was  executed  for 
no  fault  ; the  new  Hindu  raja  of  Devagiri,  Yak- 
lakhi,  revolted,  and  had  his  nose  and  ears  cut  off ; 
the  old  and  tried  nobles  of  the  late  sultan,  by  the 
intrigues  of  the  Hindu  pariah,  were  disgraced,  ban- 
ished, blinded,  imprisoned,  and  scourged.  Finally 
one  night  in  March,  1321,  the  favourite  murdered  his 
master,  and  the  headless  trunk  of  Mubarak  Shah 
was  seen  by  the  light  of  torches  falling  from  one  of 
the  palace  windows.  He  amply  deserved  his  fate. 

Then  began  a hideous  reign  of  terror.  Khusru 
mounted  the  throne  as  Sultan  Nasir-ad-din,  ‘ the 
Helper  of  the  Faith,’  and  there  followed  an  orgy  of 
blood  and  violence  such  as  had  never  before  been 
heard  of  in  India.  The  harim  of  the  sultan  was 
brutally  ravished  ; everyone  worth  killing  was  killed 
in  the  palace ; three  days  after  the  murder  of  his 


THE  WARDEN  OF  THE  MARCHES  lig 

sovereign  Khusru  took  to  wife  the  queen  of  his  vic- 
tim, a Hindu  princess  to  whom  such  an  alliance  was 
an  unspeakable  profanation  ; the  wives  and  daughters 
of  the  royal  family  and  of  the  great  nobles  were 
delivered  over  to  the  scum  of  Khusru’s  pariahs  ; ‘ the 
flames  of  bloodshed  and  brutality  reddened  the 
sky.’  The  holy  Koran  was  desecrated ; idols  were 
set  up  in  the  mosques.  The  reign  of  an  unclean 
pariah  was  as  revolting  to  the  Hindus  themselves  as 
to  the  Muslims.  Had  a Rajput  attempted  to  rally 
the  still  powerful  forces  of  his  countrymen  and  to 
make  a bid  for  the  throne,  the  chaos  of  the  times 
might  have  given  him  a chance  of  success.  The  stub- 
born defence  of  Rantambhor  and  Chitor  showed  that 
the  Hindu  chiefs  were  far  from  subdued.  But  no  In- 
dian of  any  race  or  creed,  save  the  outcast  sweepers 
of  his  own  degraded  and  despised  class,  would  follow 
a Parwani. 

The  hope  of  the  Muslims  lay  in  one  man,  the  only 
man  of  whom  the  Hindu  upstart  went  in  abject  fear. 
This  was  Taghlak,  the  warden  of  the  marches,  who 
had  held  the  frontier  against  the  Mongols  since 
the  great  days  of  Ala-ad-din’s  victories,  and  had 
routed  them  in  a score  of  battles.'  Taghlak  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  all  that  was  left  of  the  old  no- 
bility and  set  out  from  his  frontier  post  to  save  Delhi 
from  its  obscene  devourer.  The  affrighted  pariah 
collected  all  the  troops  he  could  muster,  emptied  the 

’ Ibn-15atuta  in  1340  saw  an  inscription  of  Taghlak’s  on  the 
mosque  at  Multan  which  ran  ‘ Twenty-nine  times  have  I fought  with 
the  Tatars  and  routed  them  and  hence  am  I called  al-Malik  al-Ghazi  ’ 
(Ed.  Defremery,  iii,  202). 


120 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


treasury  of  every  farthing,  and  scattered  all  the  hoard 
among  the  soldiers.  Most  of  the  Muslims  took  his 
money,  heartily  cursed  the  giver,  and  went  to  their 
homes:  they  were  not  the  men  to  take  up  arms 
against  Ghazi  Taghlak,  the  champion  of  the  faith. 
With  his  Hindus  and  such  few  contemptible  Mo- 
hammedans as  his  gold  could  buy,  Khusru  attempted 
to  withstand  his  enemy’s  march ; but  his  forces  were 
utterly  routed,  the  Parwanis  were  slaughtered  where- 
ever  they  were  found,  and  their  abject  master  was 
caught  hiding  in  a garden,  and  beheaded  (August, 
1321).  So  ended  four  months  of  the  worst  tyranny 
that  India  ever  knew. 

Taghlak  assembled  the  nobles  and  officers  and 
bade  them  bring  forward  any  scion  of  the  royal 
family  that  might  have  survived,  and  set  him  on  the 
throne.  There  was  not  one  left.  ‘ O Ghazi  Malik,’ 
they  shouted  with  one  voice,  ‘ for  many  years  thou 
hast  been  our  buckler  against  the  Mongols  and  hast 
warded  them  away  from  our  country.  Now  thou 
hast  done  a faithful  work  which  will  be  recorded  in 
history  : thou  hast  delivered  the  Muslims  from  the 
yoke  of  Hindus  and  pariahs,  hast  avenged  our  bene- 
factors and  earned  the  gratitude  of  rich  and  poor. 
Be  our  king.’  And  they  all  did  homage  to  the  new 
sultan. 


CHAPTER  VI 

i 

A MAN  OF  IDEAS 
MOHAMMAD  TAGIILAK 
1321-1388 

The  old  soldier  did  not  belie  his  reputation. 

The  trusty  warden  of  the  marches  proved  a 
just,  high-minded,  and  vigorous  king.  Under  his 
firm  hand  order  was  restored  as  if  by  magic.  Every- 
thing possible  was  done  to  repair  the  misfortunes  of 
the  unhappy  ladies  of  the  late  court,  and  to  punish 
their  persecutors.  Orders  were  given  to  reduce  the 
taxation  on  agricultural  lands  to  a tenth  or  eleventh 
of  the  produce,  and  to  encourage  the  tillers  to  greater 
production.  The  Hindus  were  more  heavily  taxed, 
yet  not  to  the  verge  of  poverty.  In  the  verse  of 
Amir  Khusru  : 

‘Wisdom  and  prudence  in  all  that  he  did  were  revealed; 
The  faculties’  hoods  seemed  under  his  crown  concealed.’ 

Peace  and  prosperity  once  more  reigned  in  Hindu- 
stan, and  two  expeditions  under  Taghlak  Shah’s 
eldest  son  Prince  Jauna,  then  known  as  Ulugh 


121 


122 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


Khan,  recovered  the  Deccan  provinces  as  far  as 
Telingana,  which  the  recent  troubles  had  encouraged 
to  revolt.  Taghlak  himself  led  his  army  to  Bengal, 
which  had  never  been  even  nominally  subject  to 
Delhi  since  the  death  of  Balban,  and  there  he  re- 
ceived the  homage  of  the  provincial  viceroy  of  Lakh- 
nauti,  Nasir-ad-din  (grandson  of  Balban’s  son  Bughra 
Khan),  and  carried  in  chains  to  Delhi  his  recalcitrant 
brother  Bahadur  Shah,  who  styled  himself  king  in 
eastern  Bengal.  On  his  return  from  this  expedition 
the  gallant  old  sultan  met  his  death  (1325)  by  the 
fall  of  a roof  which  crushed  him  beneath  its  ruins. 
His  body  was  found  arched  over  his  favourite  child 
whom  he  strove  in  his  last  moments  to  protect. 
There  seems  little  doubt  that  the  catastrophe  was 
treacherously  planned  by  his  eldest  son.’ 

It  is  in  this  son.  Prince  Jauna,  who  ascended  the 
throne  as  the  Sultan  al-Mujahid  Mohammad  ibn 
Taghlak,  that  the  main  interest  of  the  Karauna” 
dynasty  abides.  In  each  of  the  three  dynasties  that 
ruled  India  throughout  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  there  was  one  conspicuously  remarkable 
figure.  Among  the  slave  kings  it  was  Balban, 
the  man  of  action;  among  the  Khaljis  it  was  Ala- 

' It  is  so  asserted  by  the  Moorish  traveller  Ibn-Batuta,  who  was  at 
Delhi  sixteen  years  later,  and  had  his  information  from  an  eye-wit- 
ness. See  Defremery’s  ed.,  iii,  212-214. 

® Karauna  is  evidently  Marco  Polo’s  Caraotias  (ed.  Yule,  i,  99), 
explained  as  meaning  half-breeds,  ‘ sons  of  Indian  (possibly  Biluchi) 
mothers  by  Tatar  fathers.’  The  Karawina,  described  by  Wassaf  as 
the  artillerymen  of  the  Chaghatai  army  in  Khurasan,  may  be  the 
same  race,  and  the  Mongols  used  to  nickname  the  Chaghatai  Turks 
Karawanas  (Ross,  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  76*,  77*). 


123  KORT  OF  TAGHLAKABAD,  AT  DELHI,  ENCLOSING  TOMB  OF  TAGHLAK  SHAK. 


124 


MEDIALVAL  INDIA 


ad-din,  the  crude  but  daring  political  economist ; 
among  the  Karaunas  it  was  Mohammad  Taghlak,' 
the  man  of  ideas.  The  history  of  the  East,  as  we 
have  said,  centres  in  its  kings,  and  the  history  of 
Eastern  dynasties  is  apt  to  consist  of  the  rise  of  one 
great  man  and  the  decay  of  his  successors.  Moham- 
mad Taghlak  was  the  most  striking  figure  in  mediae- 
val India.  He  was  a man  with  ideas  far  beyond  his 
age.  Ala-ad-din  had  brought  a vigorous  but  un- 
cultivated mind  to  bear  upon  the  problems  of  gov- 
ernment ; Mohammad  Taghlak  was  even  more  daring 
in  his  plans,  but  they  were  the  ideals  of  a man  of 
trained  intellect  and  tutored  imagination.  He  was 
perfect  in  the  humanities  of  his  day,  a keen  student 
of  Persian  poetry — the  Latin  of  Indian  education, — 
a master  of  style,  supremely  eloquent  in  an  age  of 
rhetoric,  a philosopher,  trained  in  logic  and  Greek 
metaphysics,  with  whom  scholars  feared  to  argue,  a 
mathematician  and  a lover  of  science.  The  contem- 
porary writers  extol  his  skill  in  composition  and  his 
exquisite  calligraphy,  and  his  beautiful  coinage  bears 
witness  to  his  critical  taste  in  the  art  of  engrossing 
the  Arabic  character,  which  he  read  and  understood 
though  he  could  not  speak  the  language  fluently. 

In  short  he  was  complete  in  all  that  high  culture 
could  give  in  that  age  and  country,  and  he  added  to 
the  finish  of  his  training  a natural  genius  for  original 
conception,  a marvellous  memory,  and  an  indomita- 
ble will.  His  idea  of  a central  capital,  and  his  plan 
of  a nominal  token  currency,  like  most  of  his  schemes, 

'So  commonly  called,  for  Mohammad-i-Taghlak,  the  Persian 
equivalent  of  the  Arabic  Mohammad  ibn  (son  of)  Taghlak. 


MO  HA  MM  A D TA  GHLAK: 


125 


were  good  ; but  he  made  no  allowance  for  the  native 
dislike  of  innovations,  he  hurried  his  novel  measures 
without  patience  for  the  slow  adoption  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  when  they  grew  discontented  and  rebelled 
he  punished  them  without  ruth.  To  him  what 
seemed  good  must  be  done  at  once,  and  when  it 
proved  impossible  or  unsuccessful  his  disappoint- 
ment reached  the  verge  of  frenzy,  and  he  wreaked 
his  wrath  indiscriminately  upon  the  unhappy  offend- 
ers who  could  not  keep  pace  with  his  imagination. 
Hence  with  the  best  intentions,  excellent  ideas,  but 
no  balance  or  patience,  no  sense  of  proportion,  Mo- 
hammad Taghlak  was  a transcendent  failure.  His 
reign  was  one  long  series  of  revolts,  savagely  re- 
pressed ; his  subjects,  whom  he  wished  to  benefit 
and  on  whom  he  lavished  his  treasure,  grew  to  loathe 
him  ; all  his  schemes  came  to  nothing,  and  when 
after  twenty-six  years  he  died  of  a fever  on  the 
banks  of  the  Indus,  he  left  a shattered  empire  and 
an  impoverished  and  rebellious  people. 

Yet  he  began  his  reign  with  everything  in  his 
favour.  He  followed  a deeply  revered  father,  and 
he  had  a high  reputation  of  his  own.  He  was  known 
to  be  a great  general,  and  his  private  life  was  tem- 
perate and  even  austere.  All  India  was  quiet,  and 
the  distant  provinces  had  been  recovered.  The  sus- 
picion that  his  father’s  sudden  end  was  deliberately 
planned  by  the  son  may  have  set  the  people  against 
him  ; but  neither  Barani  nor  Firishta  support  the 
story,  and  it  is  not  certain  that  it  was  generally  be- 
lieved. Even  if  it  were,  such  murders  were  too  com- 
mon to  form  an  ineffaceable  stigma.  Mohammad 


126 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Taghlak  failed  by  his  own  mistaken  government,  not 
on  account  of  an  initial  crime. 

As  a rule  he  never  consulted  anybody,  and  formed 
his  projects  unassisted  ; but  one  day  he  sent  for  the 
historian  Barani,  who  was  often  in  attendance  at 
court,  and  frankly  discussed  affairs  with  him.  ‘ My 
kingdom  is  diseased,’  he  complained,  ‘ and  no  treat- 
ment cures  it.  The  physician  cures  the  headache, 
and  fever  follows ; he  strives  to  allay  the  fever,  and 
something  else  supervenes.  So  in  my  kingdom  dis- 
orders have  broken  out ; if  I suppress  them  in  one 
place,  they  appear  in  another ; if  I allay  them  in 
one  district,  another  becomes  disturbed.  What 
have  former  kings  said  about  these  disorders?’  The 
man  of  history  cited  instances  of  the  abdication  of 
kings  in  favour  of  their  sons,  or  of  a sovereign’s  re- 
tirement from  the  affairs  of  state,  which  were  left  to 
wise  vezirs.  The  sultan  seemed  to  approve  the  idea 
of  abdication,  adding  ‘ At  present  I am  angry  with 
my  subjects  and  they  are  aggrieved  with  me.  The 
people  are  acquainted  with  my  feelings,  and  I am 
aware  of  their  misery  and  wretchedness.  No  treat- 
ment that  I employ  is  of  any  benefit.  My  remedy 
for  rebels  is  the  sword.  I employ  punishment  and 
use  the  sword,  so  that  a cure  may  be  effected  by 
suffering.  The  more  the  people  resist,  the  more 
I inflict  chastisement.’ 

The  series  of  tortures  and  executions  described  by 
Ibn-Batuta  is  too  horrible  to  relate,  and  the  frequent 
scenes  at  Delhi,  which  the  Moorish  traveller  witnessed, 
where  the  trained  elephants,  with  tusks  armed  with 
iron  blades,  tossed  the  victims  in  the  air,  trampled 


FEROCIOUS  CRUELTY 


127 


them  under  foot,  and  carved  them  into  slices,  make 
one’s  blood  run  cold.  The  sultan’s  own  brother  and 
nephew  did  not  escape  his  ferocity : suspected  of 
treason  the  former  was  beheaded  in  the  presence  of 
his  brother;  the  nephew  fled  to  the  raja  of  Kampila, 
brought  destruction  upon  his  protector,  and  when 
caught  himself,  was  flayed  and  roasted  alive,  and  his 
cooked  flesh  sent  to  his  family.  One  can  hardly  be- 
lieve that  such  enormities  could  have  been  committed 
by  a man  of  Mohammad  Taghlak’s  refinement. 

Apart  from  such  monstrous  barbarities,  his  great 
mistake  — a capital  error  in  an  Eastern  country  — 
was  that  he  could  not  let  well  or  ill  alone.  He  was 
too  clever  not  to  see  the  ills,  but  not  clever  enough 
to  know  that  they  were  better  undisturbed.  Qiiieta 
non  movere  was  never  his  motto ; rather  was  it  ‘ be 
instant  in  season  and  (especially)  out  of  season.’  On 
the  whole  his  was  a fine  principle,  a high  ideal ; but 
the  reaction  when  he  found  his  ideal  unattainable 
was  violent  and  deplorable.  Ibn-Batuta  knew  him 
well  in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign,  and  was  well  able 
to  judge  his  character.  This  is  his  portrait  of  the 
sultan  : — 

‘ This  king  is  of  all  men  the  one  who  most  loves  to 
dispense  gifts  and  to  shed  blood.  His  gateway  is 
never  free  from  a beggar  whom  he  has  relieved  and  a 
corpse  which  he  has  slain.  Tales  are  spread  abroad 
among  the  people  of  his  generosity  and  courage,  as 
of  his  bloodshed  and  vindictiveness  towards  offend- 
ers. With  all  this  he  is  the  humblest  of  men  and  the 
most  eager  to  show  justice  and  truth.  The  rites  of 
religion  find  full  observance  with  him,  and  he  is 


128 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


strict  in  the  matter  of  prayer  and  in  punishing  its 
neglect.  . . . But  what  is  pre-eminent  in  him  is 

generosity.’ 

The  boundless  prodigality  of  the  sultan  was  indeed 
one  of  the  causes  of  his  troubles.  Even  the  wealth 
of  India,  reinforced  by  the  spoils  brought  back  from 
the  Hindu  cities  of  the  Deccan,  now  again  under 
control,  could  not  meet  the  extravagance  of  his 


GOLD  COIN  OF  MOHAMMAD  TAGHLAK,  STRUCK  AT  DELHI, 

A.H.  726  (A.D.  1326). 

generosity  and  the  magnificence  of  his  court.  To 
foreigners  he  was  specially  hospitable,  preferring 
them  to  natives,  says  the  ^Moorish  traveller,  who  him- 
self enjoyed  the  sultan’s  high  favour  and  was  pre- 
sented with  fiefs  and  large  sums  of  money,  appointed 
to  a judgeship,  and  finally  sent  as  Mohammad’s  am- 
bassador to  China.  When  distinguished  strangers 
came  to  Delhi,  the  sultan  would  settle  upon  them 
the  revenues  of  so  many  villages  or  districts,  which 
maintained  them  in  luxury  during  their  visit  and 
enabled  them  to  go  home  in  affluence.  The  almost 
incredible  largesse  he  scattered  among  these  vis- 
itors and  among  learned  men,  poets,  officials,  and 
nmadivars  of  all  degrees,  impoverished  the  treasury 


OPPRESSIVE  TAXATION 


129 


which  the  tranquil  prosperity  of  his  father’s  brief 
reign  had  replenished,  and  the  immense  expeditions 
which  the  sultan  prepared  for  visionary  foreign  con- 
quests completed  the  ruin  of  his  finances.  His  pro- 
ject of  conquering  Persia  kept  a huge  army  standing 
idle,  and  another  dream  of  invading  China  led  to 
a disastrous  check  in  the  passes  of  the  Himalayas 
where  money  and  men  were  spilt  like  water. 

The  drain  on  the  treasury  compelled  fresh  taxa- 
tion, and  there  is  no  doubt  that  an  oppressive  fiscal 
system  in  a country  where  the  margin  of  agricultu- 
ral profit  is  minute  was  the  chief  rock  upon  which 
Mohammad  Taghlak’s  government  split.  The  first 
project  which  the  sultan  formed  (says  Barani),  and 
which  led  to  the  ruin  of  the  country  and  the  decay 
of  the  people,  was  an  attempt  to  get  five  or  ten  per 
cent,  more  tribute  from  the  lands  in  the  Doab,  the 
fertile  plain  between  the  Ganges  and  the  Jumna. 
He  introduced  oppressive  cesses  and  made  stoppages 
from  the  land  returns  until  the  backs  of  the  rayats 
were  broken.  The  cesses  were  collected  so  rigor- 
ously that  the  peasants  were  reduced  to  beggary. 
The  rich  became  rebels,  and  the  lands  fell  out  of  cul- 
tivation. The  effects  spread  to  other  provinces ; 
the  peasants  became  alarmed,  lost  confidence,  aban- 
doned their  lands,  burned  their  stacks,  turned  their 
cattle  loose,  and  took  to  the  jungles.  Irritated  at 
the  failure  of  the  revenue  the  sultan  hunted  the 
wretched  Hindus  like  wild  beasts,  ringed  them  in 
the  jungles  as  if  they  were  tigers,  and  closing  in  mas- 
sacred them  wholesale.  The  Doab,  Kanauj,  and  all 

the  country  as  far  as  Dalamau,  were  laid  waste  and 
9 


130 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


every  man  captured  was  killed  and  his  head  hung  on 
the  rampart  of  a town.  Landowners  and  village 
chiefs  were  sacrificed  as  well  as  humble  rayats.  A 
deficiency  of  the  seasonable  rains  aggravated  the 
distress,  and  famine  stalked  about  the  land  and 
mowed  down  the  unhappy  people  for  years. 

It  was  partly  the  melancholy  condition  of  Hindu- 
stan, but  still  more  the  inconvenience  of  a distant 
northern  capital  to  an  empire  which  was  spreading 
more  and  more  in  the  Deccan,  that  induced  the 
sultan  to  take  the  step  of  transferring  the  seat  of 
government  to  Devagiri,  which  he  now  renamed 
Daulatabad,  ‘ the  empire-city,’  in  the  Maratha  coun- 
try not  far  from  Poona.  The  insecurity  of  the  roads, 
as  well  as  the  long  distances,  made  Delhi  an  unsuit- 
able centre,  and  we  find  that  sometimes  the  revenue 
of  the  Deccan  was  allowed  to  accumulate  for  years 
at  Daulatabad  from  sheer  inability  to  transport  it 
safely  to  the  capital.  Whether  the  Maratha  city 
would  have  been  more  convenient  may  be  ques- 
tioned, at  least  for  the  eastern  part  of  the  empire, 
but  for  the  west  and  south  it  might  have  answered 
well  enough.  There  was  nothing  preposterous  in 
the  sultan’s  plan.  The  Deccan  provinces— for  it 
was  now  divided  into  four  — extended  as  far  south 
as  Kulbarga  near  the  Bhima  tributary  of  the  Krishna 
river,  and  though  it  is  not  easy  to  define  their  east- 
ward boundary  it  probably  reached  to  the  Godaveri, 
though  Telingana  was  rather  a tributary  state  than 
a part  of  the  empire. 

Had  he  contented  himself  with  merely  shifting 
the  official  court,  the  change  would  have  been  rea- 


DELHI  DEPOPULATED 


I3I 

sonable  and  practical.  But  he  must  needs  transport 
the  whole  population  of  Delhi  summarily  and  en 
masse  to  the  new  capital.  What  this  meant  may  be 
realized  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  Delhi  which 
Ibn-Batuta  described  was  a vast  city,  ten  miles  across, 
composed  of  successive  suburbs  built  round  the  forts 
and  palaces  of  different  kings.  There  was  old  Delhi, 
the  city  of  the  Ghazni  rulers ; near  by  stood  Siri, 
afterwards  named  the  Dar-el-Khilafa,  ‘ Abode  of  the 
Caliphate,’  founded  by  Ala-ad-din ; Taghlakabad 
was  the  suburb  built  by  the  sultan’s  father,  whose 
palace  was  roofed  with  glittering  gilt  tiles  {karamida 
niudhahhaba) ; and  Jahanpanah,  ‘ the  Refuge  of  the 
World,’  was  the  name  given  to  the  new  city  which 
Mohammad  Taghlak  dominated  from  his  stately 
palace.  The  great  wall  of  old  Delhi,  which  aston- 
ished the  Moorish  visitor  by  its  thickness  and  its  in- 
genious arrangement  of  guardrooms  and  magazines, 
had  twenty-eight  gates ; and  the  great  mosque,  the 
Kutb  Minar,  and  the  splendid  palaces,  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  traveller  who  had  seen  all  the  cities 
of  the  East  and  their  wonders.  He  never  tires  of 
expatiating  on  the  grandeur  of  the  royal  receptions 
and  stately  pageants  in  the  ‘thousand  columned’ 
hall  of  ‘the  World’s  Refuge.’  Yet  the  Delhi  he  saw 
was  a city  slowly  recovering  from  what  seemed  to 
be  a deathblow.  All  the  people  had  been  forcibly 
removed  years  before,  and  the  place  was  still  com- 
paratively empty.  The  heart-broken  inhabitants 
were  made  to  give  up  their  familiar  homes  and  cher- 
ished associations,  and,  taking  with  them  their  serv- 
ants and  their  children  and  such  belongings  as  they 


132 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


could  carry,  to  trudge  the  weary  march  of  seven 
hundred  miles  to  a strange  country  which  could 
never  replace  the  beautiful  city  where  they  were  born 
and  to  which  they  were  bound  by  every  tie  of  love 
and  memory.  Many  died  on  the  way,  and  of  those 
who  reached  Daulatabad  few  could  resist  the  home- 
sickness and  despondency  that  kill  the  Indian  in 
exile.  They  were  chiefly  Muslims,  but  they  were 
forced  to  live  in  an  ‘infidel’  country,  and  they  gave 
up  the  ghost  in  passive  despair.  The  new  capital 
became  the  nucleus  of  the  cemeteries  of  the  exiles. 

The  ill-considered  plan  had  failed : Daulatabad 
was  a monument  of  misdirected  energy.  The  long 
road,  a forty  days’  journey,  between  Delhi  and  the 
new  capital,  laid  out  with  infinite  care,  bordered 
with  trees  all  the  way  like  an  avenue  in  a park,  with 
frequent  inns  and  rest-houses,  only  beckoned  the 
exiles  home.  The  sultan,  who  had  the  wisdom  to 
recognize  his  failure,  ordered  the  people  back  to 
Delhi,  but  few  survived  to  return.  He  imported 
‘ learned  men  and  gentlemen,  traders  and  landhold- 
ers ’ from  the  country  to  repopulate  the  deserted 
capital ; but  they  did  not  flourish,  and  it  was  long 
before  Delhi  recovered  its  prosperity.  The  Moor 
found  the  great  suburbs  sparsely  occupied  and  the 
city  still  seemed  almost  deserted. 

It  is  but  just  to  the  hasty  sultan  to  admit  that  he 
did  his  best  to  remedy  some  of  his  mistakes.  If  he 
could  not  repeople  Delhi  at  a stroke  with  the  rapidity 
with  which  he  had  emptied  it,  he  did  much  to  miti- 
gate the  distress  caused  by  famine  and  excessive 
taxation.  He  abolished  (in  1341)  all  taxes  beyond 


A FORCED  CURRENCY 


133 


the  legal  alms  and  the  government  tithes,  and  him- 
self sat  twice  a week  to  receive  the  complaints  of  the 
oppressed.  He  distributed  daily  food  to  all  the 
people  of  Delhi  for  six  months  in  a time  of  scarcity, 
and  he  organized  an  excellent  system  of  government 
loans  to  agriculturists  which  would  have  been  of 
great  service  but  for  the  dishonesty  of  the  overseers. 
To  meet  the  heavy  drain  upon  the  treasury  he  made 
his  famous  experiment  of  a token  currency,  which 
raised  a storm  as  furious  as  that  which  raged  round 
Wood’s  halfpence  in  the  days  of  Swift.  He  may 
have  taken  the  idea  from  the  paper-money  issued  by 
Khubilai  Khan  in  China,  or  from  the  paper  notes 
with  which  a Mongol  khan  of  Persia  had  recently 
endeavoured  to  cheat  his  subjects.  But  Mohammad 
Taghlak’s  forced  currency  was  not  intended  to  de- 
fraud, and  as  a matter  of  fact  accidentally  enriched  the 
people,  whilst  the  substitution  of  minted  copper  for 
paper  was  a new  idea.  The  copper  token  was  to 
pass  at  the  value  of  the  contemporary  silver  tanka, 
and  of  course  its  acceptance  depended  upon  the 
credit  of  the  public  treasury.  Mohammad  Taghlak 
has  been  called  ‘ the  Prince  of  Moneyers,’  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  he  devoted  much  attention  to  his 
coinage  and  dealt  with  it  in  a scientific  way.  ‘So 
important  indeed,’  says  the  greatest  authority  on 
Indian  numismatics,'  ‘did  he  consider  all  matters 
connected  with  the  public  currency  that  one  of  the 
earliest  acts  of  his  reign  was  to  remodel  the  coinage, 
to  adjust  its  divisions  to  the  altered  relative  values  of 

' E.  Thomas,  Chronicles  of  the  Pathan  Kings  of  Delhi  (1871), 
207,  233. 


1.34 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  precious  metals,  and  to  originate  new  and  more 
exact  representations  of  the  subordinate  circulation. 
The  leading  motive  . . . seems  to  have  been 

the  utilization  of  the  stores  of  gold  which  filled  the 
sultan’s  treasuries ; and,  without  proposing  to  intro- 
duce a definite  gold  standard,  which  under  the  sur- 
rounding circumstances  would  doubtless  have  proved 
impracticable,  he  appears  to  have  aimed  at  a large 
expansion  of  the  currency  of  the  land  by  direct 
means,  associated  with  an  equitable  revision  of  the 
basis  of  exchange  between  gold  and  silver,  which 
had  been  disturbed  by  the  large  accessions  of  the 
former  from  the  Deccan,  unaccompanied  by  any 
proportionate  addition  to  the  supply  of  the  latter.’ 
He  was  thus  an  expert  in  currency  questions,  and 
when  he  introduced  his  copper  tokens  he  was  taking 
a step  of  which  he  should  have  known  the  conse- 
quences. The  curious  point  is  that,  whilst  no  doubt 


BRASS  MONEY  OF  MOHAMMAD  TAGHLAK  STRUCK  AT  DELHI, 

A.  H.  731  (1330-31  A.D.) 

fully  aware  that  the  value  of  the  token  depended 
upon  the  credit  of  the  treasury,  he  forgot  that 
it  was  absolutely  essential  to  the  success  of  his 
innovation  that  none  but  the  state  should  issue 
the  tokens.  In  those  days  however  there  was  no 
milling  or  other  device  of  costly  machinery  to  dis- 


THE  TOKENS  CALLED  IN 


135 


tinguish  the  issues  of  the  royal  mint  from  private 
forgeries.  To  forge  in  gold  was  expensive,  but  any 
skilled  Hindu  engraver  could  copy  the  inscriptions 
and  strike  copper  tokens  of  the  value  of  tankas  in 
his  own  behalf.  The  result  was  natural.  ‘ The  pro- 
mulgation of  this  edict,’  says  Barani,  ‘turned  the 
house  of  every  Hindu  into  a mint,  and  the  Hindus 
of  the  various  provinces  coined  crors  and  lacs’  of 
copper  coins.  With  these  they  paid  their  tribute, 
and  with  these  they  purchased  horses,  arms,  and  fine 
things  of  all  kinds.  The  rajas,  village  headmen,  and 
landowners  grew  rich  upon  these  copper  coins,  but 
the  state  was  impoverished.  In  those  places  where 
fear  of  the  sultan’s  edict  prevailed,  the  gold  tanka 
rose  to  be  worth  a hundred  of  the  [token]  tankas. 
Every  goldsmith  struck  copper  coins  in  his  work- 
shop, and  the  treasury  was  filled  with  these  tokens. 
So  low  did  they  fall  [after  a time]  that  they  were 
not  valued  more  than  pebbles  or  potsherds.  The 
old  coin,  from  its  great  scarcity,  rose  four-fold  and 
five-fold  in  value.  When  trade  was  interrupted  on 
every  side,  and  when  the  copper  tankas  had  become 
more  worthless  than  clods,  the  sultan  repealed  his 
edict,  and  in  great  wrath  he  proclaimed  that  whoever 
possessed  copper  coins  should  bring  them  to  the 
treasury  and  receive  the  old  ones  in  exchange. 
Thousands  of  men  from  various  quarters  who  pos- 
sessed thousands  of  these  copper  coins,  and  caring 
nothing  for  them  had  flung  them  into  corners  along 
with  their  copper  pots,  now  brought  them  to  the 

’ It  is  hardly  necessary  to  explain  that  a lac  {lakh)  is  100,000,  and 
a cror  {karor)  too  lacs. 


136 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


treasury  and  received  in  exchange  gold  tankas  and 
silver  tankas,  etc.  So  many  of  these  copper  tankas 
were  brought  to  the  treasury  that  heaps  of  them 
rose  up  in  Taghlakabad  like  mountains,’ — and  there 
they  were  seen  a century  later  in  the  days  of  Mu- 
barak Shah  II.  How  the  treasury  contrived  to 
meet  this  extraordinary  run  on  its  reserve  is  not  ex- 
plained. As  Mr.  Thomas  pointed  out,  if  good  money 
was  paid  for  every  token,  true  or  forged  (and  there 
was  no  means  of  distinguishing  good  from  bad),  the 
sultan’s  temporary  loan  from  his  own  subjects  must 
have  been  repaid  with  more  than  even  oriental  rates 
of  interest. 

All  these  innovations  harassed  and  annoyed  the 
people  and  made  the  sultan  unpopular.  The  failure 
of  his  schemes  embittered  him  and  his  extreme 
severity  towards  all  who  contravened  his  enact- 
ments brought  widespread  discontent  and  rebellion. 
There  were  other  causes  for  insurrection.  The  pro- 
vincial officials  were  no  longer  the  old  feudal  land- 
owners,  attached  by  ties  of  race  and  gratitude  to 
their  Turkish  sovereigns.  The  Turks  had  been 
displaced  ; the  triumph  of  the  Khaljis  had  loosened 
the  old  bonds  that  knitted  the  governing  class 
together ; a new  dynasty  that  was  neither  pure 
Turk  nor  Khalji  was  in  power,  and  the  officers  gov- 
erning the  provinces  were  hungry  adventurers,  often 
foreigners,  Afghans,  Persians,  Khurasanis,  Mongols, 
whom  the  sultan  overwhelmed  with  costly  gifts. 
These  men  had  none  of  the  old  loyalty,  such  as  it  was, 
and  it  was  from  them,  known  as  ‘ the  foreign  amirs’ 
that  the  revolts  came  which  shattered  the  empire. 


UNIVERSAL  REBELLION 


137 


In  the  early  years  of  his  reign  Mohammad  Taghlak 
had  ruled  a state  wider,  larger,  and  more  splendid 
than  any  of  his  predecessors.  Whilst  even  the  great 
Ala-ad-din  struck  his  coins  only  at  Delhi  and  Deva- 
giri,  the  name  and  titles  of  Mohammad  Taghlak 
shone  upon  the  issues  of  the  mints  of  Delhi,  Agra, 
Tirhut  (called  Taghlakpur),  Daulatabad,  Warangal 
(called  Sultanpur),  Lakhnauti,  Satgaon  and  Sonar- 
gaon  in  Bengal.  A contemporary  writer  gives  a list 
of  twenty-three  provinces  subject  to  the  sultan  of 
Delhi,  from  Siwistan,  Uchh,  Multan,  and  Gujarat, 
by  the  Indus,  to  Lakhnauti  in  Bengal  and  Jajna- 
gar  in  Orisa,  and  from  Lahore  near  the  Himalayas 
to  Dvara-samudra  and  the  Malabar  coast.  Never 
again  till  the  time  of  Aurangzib  did  a king  of  Delhi 
hold  so  wide  a sway.  Piece  by  piece  the  empire 
dropped  away.  One  province  after  another  re- 
volted, and  though  the  sultan  was  usually  victorious 
and  punished  the  rebels  without  mercy,  he  could 
not  be  everywhere  at  the  same  time,  and  whilst  one 
insurrection  was  being  crushed,  another  sprang  up 
at  the  other  end  of  his  dominions.  We  hear  of  re- 
volts in  Multan,  in  Bengal,  in  Ma‘bar,  at  Lahore, 
again  in  Multan,  then  at  Samana,  now  at  Warangal 
and  next  near  Oudh,  at  Karra  and  in  Bidar,  at 
Devagiri  and  in  Gujarat.  Some  of  them  were  never 
suppressed,  and  Bengal  and  the  Deccan  were  lost  to 
the  kingdom. 

It  was  in  vain  that  Mohammad  Taghlak  invoked 
the  shade  of  a great  name  and  obtained  the  sanction 
of  the  Abbasid  caliph  of  Cairo  to  his  title  as  ortho- 
dox king  of  India.  In  vain  he  received  the  mantle 


138 


MEDIEVAL  IXDIA 


and  diploma  of  investiture  (1343),  and  welcomed  a 
beggarly  descendant  of  the  famous  caliphs  of  Bagh- 
dad with  peculiar  solemnity  and  humble  deference 
to  his  splendid  court  at  Delhi  and  even  set  the 
sacred  foot  upon  his  own  proud  neck.  Nothing 
could  restore  the  loyalty  of  the  people  or  of 
their  governors.  Experiments  and  innovations  had 
harassed  them  and  brought  much  suffering ; fre- 
quent executions  and  even  massacres  had  exasper- 
ated them.  No  one  trusted  the  changeable  and 
impetuous  king,  whose  fiery  temper  had  been  mad- 
dened by  disappointment  and  revolts  and  who 
punished  small  and  great  offences  with  the  same 
merciless  ferocity.  The  end  came  whilst  he  was 
putting  down  a rebellion  in  Gujarat  and  Sind.  He 
pursued  the  chief  rebel  towards  the  mouth  of  the 
Indus;  but  he  was  already  ill  with  fever,  and,  still 
full  of  eager  plans  for  crushing  the  Sumras  of 
Thatta  and  seizing  the  rebel  leader  whom  they  were 
sheltering,  Mohammad  Taghlak  died  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  in  March,  1351.  He  had  brought  ex- 
ceptional abilities  and  a highly-cultivated  mind  to 
the  task  of  governing  the  greatest  Indian  empire 
that  had  so  far  been  known,  and  he  had  failed  stu- 
pendously. It  was  a tragedy  of  high  intentions 
self-defeated. 

After  his  death  India  recovered  like  a sick  man 
after  an  exhausting  fever,  and  the  troubles  subsided 
as  the  waves  after  a storm.  The  disturbing  force 
was  gone,  and  the  people  showed  that  they  could  be 
quiet  enough  if  they  were  let  alone.  Mohammad 
Taghlak  left  no  sons,  but  his  cousin  Firoz  Shah 


FIROZ  SHAH 


139 


was  at  once  elected  to  the  throne  by  the  chiefs  of 
the  army  then  fighting  in  Sind,  and  after  defeating 
the  rebels  he  had  no  difficulty  in  making  his  acces- 
sion sure.  An  attempt  to  set  up  a pretended  son  of 
the  late  sultan  at  Delhi  collapsed  on  his  approach, 
and  thenceforward  during  the  thirty-seven  years  of 
his  reign  there  was  not  a single  rebellion.  This  was 
certainly  not  due  to  any  vigour  of  the  sultan.  Firoz 
was  a man  of  forty-five,  whose  mother  was  a Hindu 
princess  of  Dipalpur,  who  nobly  gave  herself  to  his 
father  in  order  to  save  her  people  from  the  exactions 
with  which  they  were  vindictively  oppressed  when 
the  Raja  Mai  Bhatti  at  first  proudly  refused  to  give 
a Rajput  princess  to  a mere  half-bred  Turk.  Their 
son  had  been  carefully  brought  up  by  his  brave 
uncl5,  the  warden  of  the  marches,  and  had  been 
trained  in  the  art  of  government  by  that  talented 
but  wrong-headed  projector  Mohammad  Taghlak, 
with  whom  he  lived  as  a son  for  many  years.  Prob- 
ably the  lessons  of  his  preceptor  were  read  back- 
wards ; at  all  events  Firoz  reversed  his  predecessor’s 
policy  in  every  detail. 

It  was  characteristic  of  the  merciful  and  pious  dis- 
position of  the  new  king  that,  after  burying  his  cousin 
with  all  honour,  he  sought  out  the  victims  of  his 
ferocity  or  their  representatives  and  endeavoured  as 
far  as  possible  to  indemnify  them  for  their  sufferings 
and  losses.  When  this  was  done  he  collected  the 
attested  documents  in  which  they  admitted  the  re- 
paration they  had  received  and  expressed  themselves 
satisfied.  All  these  papers  he  placed  in  the  tomb  of 
the  tyrant,  in  the  pious  hope  ‘that  God  would  show 


140 


MEDIALVAL  INDIA 


mercy  to  my  patron  and  friend.’  It  was  a gracious 
and  beautiful  act.  Firoz  possessed  in  an  overflowing 
degree  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  that  supreme 
gift  of  sympathy  and  tenderness  which  made  the 
whole  Indian  world  his  kin.  He  has  been  charged 
with  weakness  and  fatuity,  but  it  was  a weakness 
that  came  very  near  the  Christian  ideal  of  love  and 
charity,  and  it  brought  peace  and  happiness  to  a land 
which  had  been  sorely  tormented.  Like  his  name- 
sake, Firoz  the  Khalji,  the  new  sultan  had  a horror 
of  bloodshed  and  torture.  He  had  seen  too  much 
of  both  under  his  cousin’s  rule,  and  he  resolved  that 
they  should  cease.  ‘The  great  and  merciful  God,’ 
he  wrote  in  his  own  touching  memoirs,  ‘taught  me. 
His  servant,  to  hope  and  seek  for  His  mercy  by 
devoting  myself  to  preventing  the  unlawful  slSying 
of  Muslims  and  the  infliction  of  any  kind  of  torture 
upon  them  or  upon  any  men.’ 

So  gentle  a king  was  not  made  for  the  glories  of 
conquest ; he  abhorred  war  and  clearly  was  no 
general;  if  not  content  to  leave  the  revolted 
provinces  alone,  he  made  little  eflort  to  recover 
them.  The  Deccan  was  allowed  to  become  inde- 
pendent under  Hasan  Gangu,  the  founder  of  the 
Bahmanid  dynasty,  whose  sultans  ruled  all  the 
provinces  south  of  the  Vindhyas  for  i8o  years. 
Bengal  also  remained  independent,  though  Firoz 
twice  attempted  to  bring  it  back  under  subjection. 
On  the  first  campaign  (1353)  he  was  absent  from  his 
capital  eleven  months,  and  after  winning  a great 
battle,  in  which  180,000  Bengalis  are  said  to  have 
been  slain,  he  refused  to  storm  the  fort  of  Ikdala  in 


CONQUEST  OF  THATTA 


I4I 

which  the  king  of  Bengal  had  taken  refuge,  for  fear 
of  shedding  more  of  the  blood  of  the  faithful,  and 
sadly  returned  to  Delhi.  In  the  second  expedition, 
si.x  or  seven  years  later  (1359-60),  though  he  had 
70,000  cavalry,  infantry  ‘past  numbering,’  470  ele- 
phants, and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  war,  he  concluded 
a treaty  of  peace  with  the  Bengal  king,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  lose  himself  and  his  army  whilst  elephant- 
hunting in  Padmavati,  in  the  wilds  of  Jajnagar,  and 
only  after  great  privations  and  much  difficulty  found 
his  way  back  to  Delhi,  where  no  news  had  been 
received  of  him  for  six  months.  He  had  been  away 
two  years  and  a half. 

A later  expedition  to  conquer  Thatta,  which 
Taghlak  had  failed  to  subdue,  occupied  about  the 
same  length  of  time.  With  90,000  horse  and  480 
elephants  Firoz  marched  to  Bhakkar.  Part  of  the 
force  descended  the  Indus  in  5000  boats,  the  rest 
marching  along  the  bank.  Famine  and  pestilence 
reduced  the  horses,  and  after  a battle  with  the 
Samma  Jam  or  ruler  of  Sind,  who  had  a large  army 
and  had  never  owned  an  overlord,  the  sultan  made  a 
‘strategic  retreat  ’ towards  Gujarat,  pursued  by  the 
enemy,  who  captured  his  boats.  On  the  retreat  all 
the  horses  died  ; treacherous  guides  inveigled  the 
army  into  the  salt  marshes  of  Kachh,  and  they  lost 
themselves  in  the  desert.  Again  for  six  months  the 
sultan  and  his  army  disappeared  from  human  ken  ; 
not  a word  of  them  reached  Delhi,  and  the  vezir  had 
to  forge  cheering  dispatches  to  relieve  the  public 
anxiety.  The  sultan  however  doggedly  held  to  his 
purpose,  refitted  his  army  in  Gujarat,  sent  thrice  to 


142 


MEDIJEVAL  INDIA 


Delhi  for  reinforcements,  and  in  a second  invasion, 
after  some  trouble  in  crossing  the  Indus,  succeeded 
in  occupying  Sind,  and  starved  the  jam  into  sur- 
render. The  native  ruler  was  brought  to  Delhi  in 
all  honour,  and  his  son  was  made  jam  in  his  stead. 
This  was  the  only  victorious  exploit  of  the  reign  of 
Firoz,  except  the  reduction  of  Nagarkot,  and  it  was 
won  at  great  cost.  The  sultan  had  again  been  away 
from  his  capital  for  two  years  and  a half. 

In  any  other  reign  there  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  a revolution  and  a rival  king  during  these  long 
absences.  But  Firoz  possessed  a treasure  in  his 
vezir,  a converted  Hindu  of  good  family  from 
Telingana,  named  Makbul  Khan,  who  had  held  the 
highest  offices  under  the  dangerous  favour  of 
Mohammad  Taghlak.  Over  Firoz  the  wise  though 
illiterate  Hindu  gained  such  influence  that  the  sultan 
used  to  say  that  Khan-i-Jahan,  ‘lord  of  the  world,’ 
as  he  was  entitled  by  virtue  of  his  office,  was  the 
real  king  of  Delhi.  So  fond  was  the  sultan  of  his 
invaluable  vezir  that  he  allowed  an  income  of  over  a 
thousand  a year  to  every  son  that  was  born  to  him, 
and  yet  more  by  way  of  marriage  portion  to  each 
daughter ; and  as  Makbul  was  an  uxorious  person, 
who  kept  two  thousand  ladies  in  his  harim,  ranging 
from  olive  Greeks  to  saffron  Chinese,  these  endow- 
ments must  have  reached  a considerable  sum.  But 
the  vezir  was  worth  his  money.  As  the  sultan’s 
deputy  and  alter  ego  he  held  the  state  securely  while 
his  master  was  away,  stood  always  between  him  and 
official  worries,  and  administered  the  kingdom  with 
exceptional  skill  and  wisdom.  If  the  borders  were 


MILD  ADMINISTRATION 


143 


more  limited  than  before,  the  smaller  area  was  better 
developed  and  made  more  productive. 

It  was  doubtless  due  to  Makbul’s  influence,  sec- 
onded by  the  Rajput  blood  which  Firoz  inherited 
from  Bibi  Naila,  that  the  new  regime  was  marked 
by  the  utmost  gentleness  and  consideration  for  the 
peasantry.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  pre- 
ceding sultan  had  instituted  a system  of  government 
loans  in  aid  of  the  agriculturists.  These  loans  the 
rayats,  who  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  distress 
caused  by  Mohammad  Taghlak’s  exactions,  were 
wholly  unable  to  repay.  By  the  advice  of  the  vezir 
the  oflicial  records  of  these  debts  were  publicly  de- 
stroyed in  the  sultan’s  presence,  and  the  people  were 
given  a clean  bill.  Taxation  was  brought  back  to 
the  limits  prescribed  by  the  law  of  the  Koran,  and 
any  attempts  at  extortion  were  sternly  punished. 
‘Thus,’  says  Afif,  the  panegyrist  of  the  reign,  who 
was  a frequent  attendant  at  the  court  of  Firoz,  ‘ the 
rayats  grew  rich  and  were  satisfied.  Their  homes 
were  filled  with  corn  and  goods,  horses  and  furni- 
ture ; everyone  had  plenty  of  gold  and  silver;  no 
woman  was  without  her  ornaments  and  no  house 
without  good  beds  and  divans.  Wealth  abounded 
and  comforts  were  general.  The  whole  realm  of 
Delhi  was  blessed  with  the  bounties  of  God.’ 

Nor  was  this  all.  The  sultan  was  an  enthusiastic 
builder.  He  had  a passion  for  naming  and  founding 
towns.  When  a son  (Fath  Khan,  ‘ victory-lord  ’)  was 
born  to  him  on  his  first  march  to  Delhi  after  his 
accession,  he  immediately  laid  the  foundations  of  a 
town  on  the  site  of  the  happy  event  and  called  it 


144 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Fathabad,  ‘the  city  of  Path’  or  ‘of  victory.’  On 
his  Bengal  campaigns  he  rechristened  Ikdala  ‘ Azad- 
pur,’  and  Panduah  ‘ Firozabad,’  and  founded  the  new 
city  of  Jaunpur  (Jaunanpur)  in  honour  of  his  cousin 
the  late  king.  In  the  province  of  Delhi  he  not  only 
built  Fathabad  and  Hisar  Firoza,  but  also  a second 
Firozabad  on  the  Jumna,  ten  miles  from  the  capital, 
which  became  the  Windsor  of  his  London,  where  he 
chiefly  resided,  and  whither  the  people  of  Delhi 
used  to  resort  in  crowds,  making  holiday  by  the 
river,  along  whose  banks  the  new  city  spread  for 
si.K  miles.  Here  he  set  up  one  of  the  two  Asoka 
pillars  which  he  had  removed  from  their  original 
places.  He  had  famous  architects  in  Malik  Ghazi 
Shahna  and  Abd-al-Hakk,  who  employed  an  im- 
mense staff  of  skilled  workmen,  all  duly  paid  from 
the  treasury  after  the  plans  had  been  approved  and 
the  necessary  grants  assigned. 

One  result  especially  of  these  new  foundations  was 
of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  country.  To  supply 
his  new  city  of  Hisar  Firoza  the  sultan  constructed 
(1355)  ^ double  system  of  canals,  from  the  Jumna 
and  the  Sutlej,  one  of  which,  ‘the  old  Jumna  canal,’ 
still  to  this  day  supplies  the  district  with  irrigation 
along  two  hundred  miles  of  its  ancient  course,  and 
now  brings  the  water  to  Delhi.  A later  historian, 
Firishta,  credits  Firoz  with  not  less  than  845  public 
works,  canals,  dams,  reservoirs,  bridges,  baths,  forts, 
mosques,  colleges,  monasteries  and  inns  for  pilgrims 
and  travellers,  to  say  nothing  of  repairing  former 
buildings,  such  as  the  Kutb  Minar  and  many  of  the 
tombs  of  the  kings  of  Delhi.  Curiously  not  a single 


FIROZ  THE  BUILDER 


145 


road  is  mentioned,  though  that  was  the  greatest 
want  of  India.  Of  all  these,  the  canals  were  the 


TOMB  OF  FIROZ  SHAH  AT  DELHI. 

chief  blessing  to  the  people.  By  the  improved  irri- 
gation, they  were  able  to  get  in  two  harvests  instead 
of  one.  The  superintendence  of  the  canals  was  in- 


146 


MEDI^^VAL  EVD/A 


trusted  to  skilled  engineers  who  examined  the  banks 
during  the  rainy  season  and  floods  and  reported  on 
their  condition.  In  return  for  this  benefit  the  sultan 
levied  a water-rate  of  ten  per  cent,  on  the  outlay. 
Another  wise  step  was  the  reclaiming  of  waste  lands 
by  the  government,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  de- 
voted to  the  support  of  religion  and  learning.  Firoz 
annually  allowed  more  than  a third  of  a million 
pounds  (36  lacs)  to  learned  men  and  pious  endow- 
ments, and  a million  (100  lacs)  was  distributed  every 
year  in  pensions  and  relief  to  the  poor.  The  sultan 
was  not  only  a great  builder  but  a large  gardener. 
He  planted  twelve  hundred  gardens  near  Delhi  and 
many  elsewhere,  and  the  produce,  among  which 
white  and  black  grapes  of  seven  varieties  are  men- 
tioned, brought  in  £Sooo  net  profit  to  the  treasury. 
The  three  sources  of  water-dues,  reclaimed  lands, 
and  market  gardens  added  nearly  thirty  thousand 
pounds  to  the  annual  revenue,  which  Afif  reckoned 
at  six  crors  and  eighty-five  lacs  of  tankas  (;£^6,850- 
000)  throughout  the  reign — about  a third  of  the 
revenues  of  Akbar  two  centuries  later.  Of  this  the 
fertile  Doab  alone  contributed  .^800,000. 

It  is  not  clear  whether  this  revenue  includes  the 
rents  of  the  villages  and  lands  which  were  assigned 
to  public  officials  as  salary,  but  it  probably  does  not. 
This  method  of  paj'ing  public  servants  was  strongly 
condemned  by  the  sultan  Ala-ad-din,  as  tending  to 
feudal  power  and  fostering  rebellion  ; and  Firoz  was 
the  first  to  adopt  it  generally.  During  his  reign  it 
worked  well,  but  it  may  be  questioned  whether  it 
did  not  contribute  to  the  break-up  of  the  kingdom 


FIEFS  AND  SLA  FES 


147 


which  ensued  after  his  death.  The  grants  indeed 
often  amounted  to  viceroyalties  of  great  power,  and 
we  find  large  districts  and  even  provinces  assigned 
to  eminent  nobles.  Thus  Karra  and  Dalamau  were 
granted  to  Mardan  Daulat  with  the  title  of  ‘ King 
of  the  East’;  Oudh  and  Sandila  and  Koil  formed 
separate  fiefs;  Jaunpur  and  Zafarabad  were  given 
to  another  amir;  Gujarat  to  Sikandar  Khan,  and 
Bihar  to  Bir  Afghan.  All  these  nobles  were  ex- 
pected to  defend  their  frontiers  and  manage  their 
internal  affairs.  Another  deduction  which  must  be 
considered  in  estimating  the  revenue  was  due  to  the 
sultan’s  system  of  allowing  his  great  fief-holders  so 
much  for  every  well-grown,  good-looking,  and  well- 
dressed  slave,  whom  they  furnished  for  the  service 
of  the  court.’  When  the  feudatories,  that  is,  most 
of  the  high  officers  of  the  state,  came  to  pay  their 
annual  visit  to  the  capital — a kind  of  rent-audit — 
they  brought  not  only  presents  for  the  sultan,  of 
horses,  elephants,  camels,  mules,  arms,  gold  and 
silver  vessels,  etc.,  but  also  from  ten  to  a hundred 
slaves  apiece,  for  whom  a corresponding  deduction 
was  allowed  from  their  taxes  or  rents.  The  chief 
who  brought  the  most  valuable  contribution  was 
held  in  most  esteem,  and  thus  the  system  of  annual 
presents  to  the  king,  which  became  so  onerous  a tax 
under  the  Moghul  emperors,  began  to  prevail.  The 
slaves  were  well  educated  at  court,  and  trained 
either  for  the  army,  for  palace  employment,  or  for 

* These  slaves  were  captured  in  war,  doubtless  against  insubor- 
dinate Hindu  chiefs  ; we  read  of  ‘ 400  slaves,  children  of  chiefs, 
and  Abyssinians  ’ presented  by  the  governor  of  Gujarat  in  1376. 


148 


MEDI^.VAL  INDIA 


mechanical  trades.  There  were  40,000  of  them  on 
guard  at  the  palace,  and  12,000  artisans,  in  Delhi, 
and  altogether  not  less  than  180,000  slaves  were 
supported  by  the  government.  They  had  a depart- 
ment of  their  own,  with  a treasury,  muster-master, 
and  distinct  officials.  When  the  sultan  went  abroad 
he  was  escorted  by  thousands  of  these  slaves, — arch- 
ers, swordsmen,  halberdiers,  and  packmen  mounted 
on  buffaloes.  Never  before  had  slaves  been  so 
largely  employed,  though  Ala-ad-din  had  mustered 
over  50,000. 

The  court  to  which  these  pampered  servants  min- 
istered was  luxurious  but  orderly.  It  is  true  the 
sultan  was  somewhat  addicted  to  wine,  and  on  one 
occasion,  in  the  midst  of  the  Bengal  campaign,  the 
general  Tatar  Khan  discovered  his  sovereign  in  an 
undignified  position,  lying  half-dressed  on  his  couch, 
with  a mysterious  sheet  concealing  something  under 
the  bed.  Tatar  Khan  saw  what  was  the  matter,  and 
both  were  speechless  with  surprise.  At  last  he  be- 
gan a little  sermon  on  the  wickedness  of  indulgence 
at  such  a time  of  anxiety.  The  sultan  inquired 
what  he  meant,  and  asked  innocently  if  anything 
untoward  had  happened.  The  khan  pointed  to  the 
hidden  wine  cups  under  the  bed  and  looked  solemn. 
Firoz  said  he  liked  a modest  drop  now  and  then  to 
moisten  his  throat,  but  Tatar  was  not  to  be  molli- 
fied. Then  the  sultan  swore  that  he  would  drink 
no  more  wine  whilst  the  khan  was  with  the  army. 
So  the  general  thanked  God  and  went  out.  But 
Firoz  soon  afterwards  bethought  him  that  the  khan 
was  much  needed  at  the  other  end  of  the  kingdom. 


BENEVOLENCE  OF  FIROZ 


149 


and  sent  him  there  in  all  haste.  Several  times  the 
sultan  was  lectured  by  holy  men  on  his  weakness, 
but  he  worked  off  his  excesses  by  vigorous  hunting, 
to  which  he  was  enthusiastically  devoted,  and  the 
vice  cannot  have  gone  to  such  lengths  as  to  interfere 
with  affairs  of  state — at  least  so  long  as  the  able 
Hindu  vezir  was  there  to  control  them. 

The  testimony  of  all  contemporary  chroniclers 
shows  that  Firoz  was  adored  by  the  people.  It  was 
not  only  that  he  reformed  abuses,  checked  extortion, 
reduced  taxation,  increased  irrigation,  and  enlarged 
the  markets  and  opportunities  of  labour  : he  was  ‘a 
father  to  his  people,’  took  care  of  the  needy  and  un- 
employed, refused  to  dismiss  aged  officials  but  let 
their  sons  act  for  them, — ‘ the  veteran,’  he  said,  ‘ may 
thus  stay  at  home  in  comfort,  whilst  the  young  ride 
forth  in  their  strength  ’ ; — he  contrived  the  marriages 
of  poor  Muslims  who  could  not  otherwise  afford  the 
usual  dowries,  and  provided  state  hospitals  for  the 
sick  of  all  classes,  native  and  foreign.  Kindly  to 
the  Hindus,  he  yet  sternly  forbade  public  worship 
of  idols  and  painting  of  portraits,  and  taxed  the 
Brahmans,  who  had  hitherto  been  exempt.'  A de- 
vout Muslim,  he  kept  the  fasts  and  feasts  and  public 
prayers,  and  in  the  weekly  litany  the  names  of  his 
great  predecessors  were  commemorated  as  well  as 
his  own  and  that  of  the  caliph  who  had  sanctioned 
his  authority.  When  an  old  man  he  went  on  pil- 
grimage to  the  shrine  of  the  legendary  hero  Salar 

' The  poll-tax  (jizyd)  on  non-Muslims  was  £2,  or  ac- 
cording to  their  rank  ; the  Brahmans  were  taxed  at  rather  more  than 
the  third  rate. 


150 


MEDIJEVAL  INDIA 


Mas'ud  at  Bahraich,  humbly  shav^ed,  as  an  act  of 
piety.  He  never  did  anything  without  consulting 
the  Koran,  and  even  selected  a governor  in  accord- 


GOLD  COIN  OF  FIROZ  SHAH,  A.  H.  788  (A.  D.  1 386). 


ance  with  a fal  or  lucky  omen  in  the  sacred  book. 
Making  every  allowance  for  the  exaggeration  of  the 
court  chronicler,  his  panegyric,  written  after  the 
sultan’s  death,  is  probably  not  misplaced  : ‘ Under 
Firoz  all  men,  high  and  low,  bond  and  free,  lived 
happily  and  free  from  care.  The  court  was  splendid. 
Things  were  ..plentiful  and  cheap.’  Nothing  unto- 
ward happened  during  his  reign.  No  village  re- 
mained waste,  no  land  uncultivated.’ 

His  old  age  was  troubled  by  the  loss  of  his  great 
vezir,  who  died  in  1371  ; three  years  later  the  death 
of  the  crown  prince  Path  Khan  shook  the  aged 
sultan  grievousl)'.  He  surrendered  all  authority 
into  the  hands  of  the  late  vezir’s  son,  the  second 
Khan-i-Jahan,  and  when  the  latter  fell  by  the  influ- 
ence of  Prince  Mohammad  in  1387,  the  old  king 
transferred  the  royal  elephants  to  the  prince  and 
allowed  him  to  rule  as  he  pleased.  Unfortunately 
iVIohammad  was  given  to  pleasure,  and  his  mis- 

’ Some  prices  may  be  quoted  : Wheat  3d.  (8  jitals)  the  quarter 
{man)\  barley  lid.,  grain  i4d.  the  quarter;  sugar  id.  to  l^d.  the 


A PIOUS  KING 


151 

pfovernment  excited  a formidable  rebellion  of  the 
slaves  who  formed  so  important  a faction  in  Delhi. 
Firoz  himself  had  to  come  forward  to  quell  the 
revolt,  which  instantly  subsided  at  his  appearance; 
and  the  prince  fled.  The  sultan  next  appointed  his 
grandson  Taghlak  Shah  II,  son  of  Path  Khan,  to 
administer  the  realm,  and  very  soon  afterwards  died 
(Sept.,  1388),  ‘ worn  out  with  weakness,’  at  the  age 
of  ninety.  No  king  since  Nasir-ad-din  had  so 
appealed  to  the  affections  of  his  subjects ; ‘ none 
had  shown  himself  so  just,  and  merciful,  so  kind  and 
religious — or  such  a builder.’  In  the  brief  and 
modest  memoirs  which  the  sultan  left,  he  recites 
some  of  the  successful  efforts  he  made  to  repress 
irreligion  and  wickedness,  and  to  restore  good  gov- 
ernment, just  law,  kindness,  and  generosity  to  the 
people,  in  the  place  of  torture  and  bloodshed  and 
oppression.  ‘ Through  the  mercy  which  God  has 
shown  to  me,’  he  says,  ‘ these  cruelties  and  terrors 
have  been  changed  to  tenderness,  kindness,  and  com- 
passion. ...  I thank  the  All-Bountiful  God  for 
the  many  and  various  blessings  He  has  bestowed 
upon  me.’ 


CHAPTER  VII 
DISINTEGRATION 
PROVINCIAL  DYNASTIES 
1388-1451 

HE  long  and  prosperous  reign  of  Firoz  Shah 


had  assuaged  the  troubles  of  the  people,  but  it 
had  not  strengthened  the  authority  of  the  crown. 
P'iroz  was  loved,  perhaps  respected,  but  certainly  not 
feared.  A generation  had  grown  up  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  inexorable  despotism  of  a Balban,  an 
Ala-ad-din,  or  a Mohammad  Taghlak,  and  the  dread 
of  the  sovereign  was  like  a forgotten  dream.  The 
people  did  not  rebel,  because  they  were  contented 
and  had  nothing  to  gain  by  revolution.  The  success 
of  the  reign  was  due  to  the  personal  character  of  the 
sultan  and  his  prudent  vezir:  there  was  nothing  to 
warrant  the  expectation  that  similar  tranquillity  would 
follow  the  accession  of  a new  ruler.  On  the  contrary, 
there  were  elements  of  the  sultan’s  own  creating 
that  made  for  disintegration. 

The  system  of  depending  upon  a powerful  body 
of  slaves  for  civil  and  military  service  led  to  far- 


152 


HINDU  REVIVAL 


153 


reaching  consequence.  Many  of  these  slaves  were 
converted — or  nominally  converted — Hindus,  and  to 
some  of  these  renegades  were  assigned  the  great 
fiefs  of  the  empire.  However  sincere  their  loyalty 
to  Firoz  their  master,  they  were  bound  by  no  such 
ties  to  his  successors,  and  their  influence  tended  to 
encourage  that  Hindu  independence  which  had  been 
fostered  by  the  sultan’s  mild  rule.  The  intermarriage 
of  the  royal  family  and  other  dignitaries  with  Hindus 
could  produce  no  real  amalgamation  between  peoples 
effectually  sundered  alike  by  race,  religion,  and  social 
custom.  The  Hindus  paid  tribute  when  compelled, 
but  their  free  tribes  and  aristocratic  chiefs  were 
always  eager  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  the  foreigners, 
and  in  the  years  following  the  death  of  Firoz  one  of 
the  most  notable  features  of  the  disturbed  period  is 
the  large  part  played  in  politics  by  Hindu  leaders, 
whether  slaves  converted  to  the  court  religion,  or 
rajas  who  had  asserted  their  independence  but  were 
not  above  concerting  insurrections  with  their  renegade 
fellow-countrymen.  Thus  on  the  one  hand  we  see 
the  great  provinces  held  in  fief  by  successful  courtiers, 
slaves,  often  renegade  Hindus,  whose  power  tended 
to  become  hereditary  and  to  develop  independent 
dynasties;  on  the  other,  a universal  revival  of  the 
old  Hindu  chiefships  and  of  the  independence  of 
the  hill  tribes. 

A strong  ruler  might  possibly  have  stemmed  the 
tide  which  was  engulfing  the  power  of  Delhi,  but 
even  he  must  have  bent  and  broken  before  the 
storm  which  burst  upon  India  ten  years  after  the 
death  of  Firoz.  In  those  ten  years  there  was  no 


154 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


king  of  even  moderate  capacity.  Path  Khan,  the 
hope  of  his  father,  was  dead  ; the  next  son,  Zafar, 
was  also  gone.  The  old  sultan’s  grandson  Taghlak  1 1 
was  young  and  foolish,  addicted  to  wine  and  dis- 
sipation, and  the  amirs  and  palace  slaves  rose  and 
killed  him  before  he  had  lolled  on  the  throne  five 
months.  Another  grandson  Abu-Bekr  was  opposed 
by  his  uncle  Mohammad,  the  prince  whom  the 
slaves  had  expelled  from  his  regency  under  Firoz, 
and  who  had  since  established  some  sort  of  authority 
from  Samana  to  Nagarkot  in  the  Panjab,  and  after 
several  unsuccessful  efforts  secured  Delhi  in  1390. 
His  four  years’  reign  was  ve.xed  by  a series  of  re- 
bellions; the  Hindu  chiefs  were  everywhere  in  revolt, 
the  great  feudatories  under  no  control ; and  the  perse- 
cution and  banishment  of  the  foreign  slaves  (whose 
nationality  was  tested  by  a Hindi  shibboleth)  did 
nothing  to  mitigate  their  disruptive  influence. 
Mohammad’s  son  Humayun,  proudly  entitled 
‘Ale.xander’  (Sikandar  Shah),  died  after  a reign 
of  si.x  weeks,  and  though  his  brother  Mahmud  sat 
on  the  throne  for  eighteen  years  (1394-1412),  that 
throne  was  for  some  time  set  up  at  Kanauj,  and 
even  when  at  Old  Delhi,  his  cousin  Xasrat  Shah,  son 
of  Path  Khan,  held  a rival  court  at  the  new  capital 
of  Firozabad  close  by  ; thus  there  were  two  kings  at 
Delhi,  and  both  were  mere  puppets  in  the  hands 
of  ambitious  amirs. 

Such  was  the  chaotic  state  of  the  kingdom  of 
Delhi  when  Timur  descended  upon  it  with  his 
ninety-two  regiments  of  a thousand  horse  each.  The 
great  conqueror,  whose  career  is  familiar  to  all  in  the 


INVASION  OF  TIMUR 


155 


pages  of  Gibbon,  had  already  overrun  all  Persia  and 
Mesopotamia  to  the  frontier  of  the  Ottoman  em- 
pire in  Asia  Minor  on  the  west,  and  occupied  Afghan- 
istan on  the  east,  before  the  wealth  of  India  drew 
him  to  the  invariable  road  of  Central  Asian  invaders. 
When  he  laid  the  project  before  his  council  of  war 
there  was  strenuous  dissuasion.  Five  great  rivers  to 
cross,  dense  jungles,  fierce  warriors  led  by  terrible 
rajas  couched  in  forest  fastnesses  like  wild  beasts  in 
their  lairs,  and  mailed  elephants  with  deadly  armed 
tusks — these,  said  the  chiefs,  were  obstacles  enough. 
But  others  recalled  the  example  of  Mahmud  the 
Idol-breaker  with  far  inferior  forces,  and  Timur’s 
sons  urged  the  surpassing  riches  of  India  and  the 
pre-eminence  of  such  a possession,  whilst  the  men  of 
religion  dwelt  on  the  duty  of  the  Holy  War  against 
the  infidels.  The  objectors  still  insisted  that  even 
if  successful  their  hardy  race  would  surely  degen- 
erate and  their  descendants  grow  soft  and  effeminate 
even  as  the  natives  of  Hindustan — a prediction 
verified  two  centuries  later; — but  Timur  was  not  to 
be  put  off.  ‘ My  object,’  he  wrote  or  caused  to  be 
written  in  his  memoirs,  ‘ my  object  in  the  invasion  of 
Hindustan  is  to  lead  a campaign  against  the  infidels, 
to  convert  them  to  the  true  faith  according  to  the 
command  of  Mohammad  (on  whom  and  his  family 
be  the  blessing  and  peace  of  God),  to  purify  the 
land  from  the  defilement  of  misbelief  and  polytheism, 
and  overthrow  the  temples  and  idols,  whereby  we 
shall  be  ghazis  and  mujahids,  champions  and  soldiers 
of  the  faith  before  God.’  His  will  prevailed  over  the 
doubting  men  of  war,  and  the  venture  was  resolved. 


156 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


An  advanced  force  under  his  grandson  Pir  Mo- 
hammad, who  held  Kabul,  descended  upon  the 
Indus  at  the  close  of  1397,  and  besieged  Multan. 
Timur  himself,  confirmed  in  his  resolution  by  his 
forerunner’s  report  of  the  distracted  state  of  the 
country,  left  Samarkand  in  March,  1398,  struggled 
through  the  ‘stony  girdles  of  the  earth,’  through  ice 
and  snow,  descended  appalling  precipices  in  pursuit 
of  the  infidel  tribes,  and  crossed  the  Indus  at  Attok, 
where  Jalal-ad-din  had  swum  the  river  when  es- 
caping from  Timur’s  ancestor  Chingiz  Kaan.  ‘On 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Hyphasis,  on  the  edge  of  the 
desert,  the  Macedonian  hero  halted  and  wept  ’ : 
the  Tatar  conqueror  indulged  no  such  sensibility 
but  threw  a pontoon  across  the  Chinab,  and,  joined 
by  his  grandson,  who  had  now  taken  IMultan,  pressed 
steadily  eastward.  Fearful  stories  of  the  plundering 
and  massacring  of  the  people  preceded  him,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Dipalpur  fled  to  the  protection  of 
the  Rajput  fortress  of  Bhatnir,  in  vain,  for  Timur 
stormed  it  and  slew  10,000  Hindus  in  an  hour. 
Sirsuti  was  found  deserted,  Fathabad  was  empty, 
everyone  had  hurried  panic-stricken  into  the  jungle. 
In  December  the  invading  host  stood  encamped  on 
the  plain  of  Panipat,  the  battle-field  of  Delhi,  but 
there  was  no  man  to  oppose  them.  A week  later 
Timur  was  before  the  capital. 

On  the  17th  December,  1398,  the  decisive  battle 
was  fought.  Timur  crossed  the  Jumna  and  carefully 
surveyed  the  ground.  He  took  unusual  precautions 
to  allay  the  terrors  of  his  troopers,  who  were  ex- 
travagantly nervous  about  the  invincible  elephants 


INVASION  OF  TIMUR 


157 


of  the  enemy.  He  issued  calthrops  (‘  claws  of  iron  ’) 
to  the  troops  to  throw  before  these  alarming  beasts, 
and  defended  the  camp  with  a strong  abatis  of  brush- 
wood and  trees,  behind  which  he  placed  the  women, 
stores,  and  cattle,  as  well  as  ‘ the  good  and  learned 
men  of  the  army  ’ who,  on  being  consulted  where 
they  would  wish  to  be  stationed  during  the  battle, 
modestly  expressed  a wish  to  be  ‘ placed  with  the 
ladies.’  The  immense  number  of  Hindu  prisoners, 
reckoned  at  100,000,  could  not  safely  be  left  in  the 
camp,  and  Timur  ordered  them  all  to  be  slain  in 
cold  blood.  Then  taking  an  augury  from  the  Koran, 
and  scouting  the  warnings  of  the  astrologers,  he  set 
out  his  forces  for  battle. 

The  Indian  army  under  Ikbal  Khan  and  the  sul- 
tan Mahmud  did  not  refuse  the  challenge.  They 
mustered  io,ooo  horse  and  40,000  foot,  with  125 
elephants  in  mail  with  poisoned  blades  fastened  to 
their  tusks  and  howdahs  fitted  with  hand-grenades 
and  fireworks  to  frighten  the  horses.  The  battle 
was  ordered  on  each  side  in  the  usual  manner: 
vaward,  rearward,  centre,  right  and  left  wings. 
Timur  rode  to  a neighbouring  knoll  and  recon- 
noitered  them  as  they  approached,  then  bowed  him- 
self on  the  earth  and  prayed  to  God  for  victory. 
He  mounted  in  full  assurance  that  his  prayer  was 
heard.  Completing  his  arrangements,  he  strength- 
ened his  vaward  and  right  wing,  and  the  signal  for 
the  battle  was  given  by  the  roll  of  drums.  A well- 
concealed  flanking  movement  took  the  Indian  ad- 
vance-guard in  the  rear  and  scattered  them.  The 
right  wing  under  Pir  Mohammad  drove  in  the  Indian 


158 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


left  by  a steady  discharge  of  arrows,  and  followed  it 
up  with  the  sword.  The  left,  equally  successful,  pur- 
sued the  enemy’s  right  up  to  the  gates  of  Delhi. 
The  Indian  centre  still  held  out  under  Ikbal  and  the 
sultan,  but  Timur  sent  orders  to  pick  off  the  mahauts 
and  wound  the  riderless  elephants.  The  Indian 
soldiers,  says  the  conqueror,  ‘ showed  no  lack  of 
courage,  but  bore  themselves  manfully  in  the  fight  ’ ; 
they  were  out-numbered  and  out-generalled,  how- 
ever, and  finally  took  to  flight.  The  sultan  and 
Ikbal  Khan  escaped  with  difficulty  to  the  city, 
trampling  their  own  men  under  the  elephants  in  the 
crush,  and  that  night  they  fled  to  the  mountains, 
basely  leaving  their  wives  and  children  behind.  The 
victory  was  complete,  and  Timur,  pitching  his  camp 
by  the  tomb  of  Firoz,  gave  thanks  to  God  with  tears. 

The  leading  men  came  out  and  surrendered  the 
city  on  the  following  day,  and  in  deference  to  the 
pleading  of  the  ulama  and  other  wise  and  pious 
Muslims  the  conqueror  accepted  a ransom  for  the 
lives  of  the  people.  There  was  to  be  no  sack  and 
no  massacre.  Unfortunately  the  collection  of  the 
ransom  led  to  brawls  on  the  26th,  and  Timur’s 
humane  intentions  were  frustrated.  It  was  no 
doubt  difficult  to  restrain  a great  army  of  Turks, 
who  had  been  accustomed  for  years  to  slaughter 
and  pillage  wherever  they  went.  For  three  days 
the  unhappy  city  was  turned  into  a shambles.  ‘ All 
my  army,  no  longer  under  control,  rushed  to  the 
city  and  thought  of  nothing  but  killing,  plundering, 
and  making  prisoners.’  Every  man  got  from  twenty 
to  a hundred  captives,  many  of  whom  Timur  sent  to 


DEPARTURE  OF  TIMUR 


159 


Samarkand  to  teach  the  famous  handicrafts  of  India 
to  his  own  people.  There  were  immense  spoils  of 
rubies,  diamonds,  pearls,  gold  and  silver  ornaments 
and  vessels,  silks  and  brocades.  Only  the  quarter 
inhabited  by  the  sayyids  and  ulama — the  heads  of 
the  Muslim  religion — escaped  the  general  sack. 
Siri,  Jahanpanah,  and  old  Delhi  had  been  com- 
pletely gutted.  ‘Although  I was  wishful  to  spare 
them,  I could  not  succeed,  for  it  was  the  will  of  God 
that  this  calamity  should  fall  upon  the  city.’ 

After  a fortnight  of  state  functions,  feasts  and 
levees,  it  occurred  to  Timur  that  he  had  come  to 
Hindustan  to  wage  a Holy  War  upon  the  infidels, 
and  that  he  ought  to  be  stirring  (Jan.  i,  1399).  After 
entering  the  fort  of  Firozabad  on  the  Jumna,  and 
praying  in  its  mosque,  he  took  Mirat  by  storm, 
massacred  the  men,  took  the  women  and  children 
prisoners,  and  razed  the  town  to  the  earth.  He 
then  pushed  north  to  Hardwar,  where  he  had  heard 
of  the  image  of  the  sacred  cow  from  whose  mouth 
the  Ganges  was  supposed  to  flow  and  whither  the 
Hindus  made  pilgrimage  to  the  mysterious  source 
of  the  holy  river.  Such  superstition  roused  the 
zealot’s  passion,  and  the  wretched  Indians  were 
made  to  pay  dearly  for  the  legend.  Crossing  the 
Ganges,  after  a veritable  orgy  of  slaughter,  the 
soldier  of  the  faith  prostrated  himself  in  gratitude 
to  God,  and  felt  that  he  had  accomplished  his  mission 
in  Hindustan.  He  had  come,  he  said,  for  two  pur- 
poses: to  war  with  infidels  for  the  sake  of  the 
rewards  of  the  next  world,  and  to  seize  this  world’s 
riches,  since  ‘plunder  in  war  for  the  faith  is  as 


i6o 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


lawful  to  Muslims  as  their  mother’s  milk,  and  the 
consumption  of  that  which  is  lawful  is  a means  of 
grace.’  Lacs  of  infidels  had  been  dispatched  ‘to 
the  fires  of  hell,’  and  the  zealous  warriors  of  Islam 
were  laden  with  spoils.  Enough  had  been  done, 
and  it  was  time  to  turn  homewards  and  see  what 
was  going  on  at  the  other  end  of  Asia.  Fighting 
his  way  through  the  Siwalik  hills,  beneath  Mussooree, 
driving  the  heathen  into  the  Himalaya  valleys, 
plundering  and  burning  villages  as  he  proceeded, 
seizing  Nagarkot  and  Jammu,  and  detaching  a force 
to  take  Lahore,  Timur  and  his  invincible  host  marched 
beneath  the  sloping  eaves  of  India,  and,  after  a final 
rhinoceros  hunt,  disappeared  up  the  Afghan  valleys. 
In  March  the  fearful  visitation  was  over. 

When  the  Scourge  of  God  had  departed,  men 
came  out  of  their  hiding-places  like  the  hare  when 
the  hunter  has  passed.  Fortunately,  in  his  haste  to 
return  to  Samarkand,  Timur  had  been  able  to  harry 
but  a small  part  of  India;  but  wherever  his  army 
had  trampled,  from  the  Indus  to  the  Ganges,  over 
the  whole  of  the  Panjab,  desolation  and  famine  were 
left  behind.  Thenceforward,  until  the  days  of  the 
Moghul  empire,  Delhi  never  regained  her  old  as- 
cendancy. For  a time  Ikbal  Khan,  the  vezir,  held 
the  capital,  drove  out  Nasrat  Shah,  and  made  vig- 
orous efforts  to  put  down  the  growing  hostility  of 
the  Hindu  chiefs,  who  were  now  independent  at 
Etawa,  Gwaliar,  and  many  other  strongholds. 
Sultan  Mahmud  found  Delhi  insupportable  with  all 
the  power  in  the  vezir’s  hands,  and  set  up  a separate 
court  at  Kanauj,  until  the  death  of  Ikbal  in  a battle 


THE  SAYYIDS  AT  DELHI 


l6l 


with  Khizr  Khan,  the  viceroy  of  Multan,  in 
November,  1405,  set  him  free  and  enabled  him  to 
return  to  the  capital  and  rule  a kingdom  which  had 
shrunk  to  little  more  than  the  Doab  and  Rohtak. 
The  next  six  or  seven  years  were  spent  in  a struggle 
between  the  great  feudatories,  in  which  the  dissolute 
and  incompetent  sultan  played  a sorry  part,  and 
when  Mahmud  died  in  1412  there  was  no  king  left 
at  Delhi.  The  government  was  conducted  by  the 
Lodi  amir  Daulat  Khan,  but  he  made  no  assumption 
of  royal  dignity. 

Nor  did  his  successor  assume  the  title  of  king. 
Khizr  Khan,  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  of  Sayyids, 
who  claimed  descent  from  the  family  of  the  Arabian 
Prophet,  had  prudently  cast  in  his  lot  with  Timur 
when  the  ‘noble  Tartarian’  invaded  India;  and  on 
taking  the  command  at  Delhi,  in  May  1414,  he  made 
no  pretension  to  be  more  than  Timur’s  deputy. 
There  is  no  evidence  however  that  this  allegiance 
was  anything  more  than  a politic  fiction,  whilst  the 
coinage  issued  by  Khizr  bore  the  names  of  Firoz 
and  other  defunct  kings  of  the  late  dynasty  as 
guarantees  of  its  authenticity.  The  history  of  the 
Sayyid  dynasty,  which  numbered  four  rulers,  con- 
sisted mainly  in  a perpetual  struggle  to  retain  some 
sort  of  control  of  the  small  territory  still  attached  to 
the  kingdom  of  Delhi.  How  small  this  was  will  be 
realized  when  it  is  stated  that  almost  yearly  cam- 
paigns were  undertaken  to  extort  the  annual  tribute 
from  the  Hindu  raja  of  Katehr  (Rohilkhand,  north- 
east of  Delhi),  from  Mewat  on  the  south,  and  from 
Etawa  in  the  Doab.  We  read  of  frequent  rebellions 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


162 

in  the  north-west  at  Sirhind  and  Jalandhar,  generally 
headed  by  Jasrath,  a Gakkar  leader  of  the  Murree 
hills ; of  revolts  at  Koil  (Aligarh),  Badaun,  Etawa ; 
of  pursuits  of  rebels  into  the  mountains  of  Rupar 
near  Simla  on  the  north  ; of  invasions  and  intrigues 
by  the  Timurid  governor  of  Kabul,  and  by  the 
rulers  of  Mahva  and  of  Jaunpur. 

‘Khizr’s  seven  years’  tenure  of  power  presents  but 
few  incidents  of  mark;  there  is  a seeming  oriental 
want  of  energy  to  sustain  an  accomplished  triumph, 
an  air  of  ease  which  so  often  stole  over  the  senses  of 
a successful  owner  of  a palace  in  Delhi  ; and  so  his 
vezir  and  deputy,  Taj-al-mulk,  went  forth  to  coerce 
or  persuade,  as  occasion  might  dictate,  the  various 
independent  chiefs,  whether  Muslim  or  Hindu, 
whose  states  now  encircled  the  reduced  boundaries 
of  the  old  Pathan  kingdom.  There  were  of  course 
the  ordinary  concessions  to  expediency,  so  well  un- 
derstood in  the  East,  submission  for  the  moment  in 
the  presence  of  a superior  force,  insincere  profes- 
sions of  allegiance,  temporizing  payments  of  tribute, 
or  desertion  of  fields  and  strongholds  easily  re- 
gained ; but  there  was  clearly  no  advance  in  public 
security  or  in  the  supremacy  of  the  central  govern- 
ment. The  inevitable  law  of  nature  had,  no  doubt, 
been  asserting  itself  anew  in  the  ready  recovery  of 
the  free  Hindu  tribes  as  against  the  effete  dominancy 
of  the  domesticated  Muslims  ; but  this  process  had 
been  in  continuous  action  from  the  day  when  the 
thin  wedge  of  Mohammedanism  first  thrust  itself 
amid  the  overwhelming  population  of  India,  whose 
almost  Chinese  attachment  to  ancient  ideas  would 


THE  SAYYIDS  AT  DELHI  163 

have  resisted  far  more  persuasive  arguments  than  the 
sharpest  edge  of  a scimitar  or  the  most  eloquent  ex- 
hortations of  the  latest  inspired  preacher  of  Islam. 
Added  to  this  normally  antagonistic  element  there 
had  intervened  in  higher  quarters  an  amalgamative 
process  of  intermarriage  with  Hindu  females  and  an 
admission  of  Hindu  converts  upon  very  easy  terms 
to  all  the  honours  of  Mohammedan  nobility  ; so  that 
any  prestige  the  conquering  race  might  once  have 
claimed  was  altogether  subdued  if  not  degraded  by 
these  inconsistent  concessions  ; and  it  required  some- 
thing more  revolutionary  than  the  accession  of  a 
local  sayyid  to  perpetuate  a new  dynasty.’’  The 
murder  of  Khizr’s  successor  Mubarak  Shah  by  his 
vezir,  followed  by  the  dispatch  of  that  minister 
whilst  he  was  attempting  to  assassinate  the  next  sul- 
tan, led  to  worse  anarchy  and  paved  the  way  for  the 
accession,  in  1451,  of  the  Afghan  Bahlol  Lodi  and  a 
new  line,  whose  rule  for  a time  restored  somewhat  of 
the  faded  splendour  of  Delhi. 

The  rest  of  India  was  split  up  into  numerous  inde- 
pendent states,  whose  annals  are  for  the  most  part 
unwritten  or  unworthy  of  record.  Petty  rulers,  like 
Ahmad  Khan  of  Mewat,  held  the  land  to  within 
a dozen  miles  of  Delhi  to  the  south  ; and  Darya 
Khan,  the  Lodi,  matched  him  in  his  government  of 
Sambhal  on  the  north.  There  were  independent 
chiefs  in  the  Doab  and  at  Biana,  Hindu  rajas  at 
Kampila  and  Patiala  and  other  places  which  had 
formerly  owned  the  sovereignty  of  Delhi.  Out  of 
the  ruck  of  small  principalities,  Hindu  and  Muslim, 
' Thomas,  Chronicles  of  the  Pathan  Kings,  327,  328. 


164 


MEDIyEVAL  INDIA 


some  half  dozen  great  dynasties  stand  forth  in  Ben- 
gal, Oudh,  Malwa,  Gujarat,  and  the  Deccan. 

Bengal.  The  governors  of  Bengal  had  long 
attained  independence,  and  assumed  the  style  and 
authority  of  kings  ; and  since  the  days  of  Mohammad 
Taghlak  there  had  been  scarcely  an  attempt  at  in- 
terference from  Delhi,  beyond  the  futile  and  half- 
hearted campaigns  of  the  pacific  Firoz.  Within  its 
own  borders,  however,  Bengal  was  often  divided 
against  itself.  Rival  kings  ruled  eastern  and  western 
Bengal  from  the  two  cities  of  Sonargaon  (near 
Dhaka)  and  Satgaon  (close  to  Hugh),  until  these  af- 
ter a long  struggle  were  united  to  Lakhnauti  under 
Ilyas  Shah  in  1352  and  the  provincial  capital  was 
fixed  at  Panduah,  to  which  Firoz  gave  his  own 
name.  Firozabad  remained  the  capital  of  the  whole 
jirovince  till  1446,  when  the  seat  of  government  was 
removed  again  to  Lakhnauti,  which  now  received  the 
name  of  Gaur,  and  later  the  epithet  of  Jannatabad 
or  ‘ Paradise-town.’  Very  little  is  recorded  of  the 
annals  of  the  numerous  rulers  of  Bengal  who  gov- 
erned the  province,  together  with  part  of  Bihar,  and 
latterly  Jajnagar,  Orisa,  Tipara,  Kamrup,  and  Chitta- 
gong, from  the  days  of  Mohammad  Ghori  (1202)  to 
the  conquest  by  Akbar  in  1576.  Some  were  Khaljis, 
some  were  Turks;  a Hindu  established  a brief  dy. 
nasty  which  was  converted  to  Islam  ; and  at  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century  a series  of  Abyssinian 
kings,  derived  from  the  African  bodyguard  imported 
by  the  eunuch  sultan  Barbak,  held  the  throne ; 
the  latest  kings  were  Afghans.  Provincial  as  these 


GOLDEN  MOSQUE  AT  GAUR. 


165 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


l66 

sovereigns  were,  they  maintained  great  state  and  lux- 
ury, and  the  remains  of  their  architecture  bear  witness 
to  their  taste. 

Jaunpur.  For  splendour  of  architecture,  how- 
ever, the  ‘ Kings  of  the  East,’  or  Sharki  Maliks  of 
Jaunpur,  stand  supreme  in  the  period  before  the 
Moghul  empire.  Upon  the  decline  of  the  Delhi 
kingdom  the  eunuch  Sarwar,  who  became  Khwaja-i- 
Jahan  and  vezir  under  the  last  sultans  of  the  house 
of  Taghlak,  was  sent  in  1394  into  ‘ Hindustan  ’ — the 
land  of  Hindus,  a term  used  specifically  to  denote  the 
country  about  Benares  and  Oudh,  where  the  Hindus 
were  still  practically  independent  — and  took  up  his 
residence  at  Jaunpur,  the  new  city  founded  on  the 
Gumti  opposite  Zafarabad  by  his  late  master  Firoz. 
He  soon  ‘ got  the  fiefs  of  Kanauj,  Karra,  Oudh,  San- 
dila,  Dalamau,  Bahraich,  Bihar,  and  Tirhut  into  his 
own  possession,  and  put  down  many  of  the  infidels, 
and  restored  the  forts  which  they  had  destroyed. 
The  Almighty  blessed  the  arms  of  Islam  with  power 
and  victory.  The  raja  of  Jajnagar  and  the  king  of 
Lakhnauti  now  began  to  send  to  Khwaja-i-Jahan  the 
[tributary]  elephants  which  they  had  formerly  sent 
to  Delhi.’  Thus  began  the  dynasty  of  the  ‘ Kings  of 
the  East,’  which  subsisted  in  conspicuous  power  for 
nearly  a century.  Their  dominions  stretched  along 
the  plain  from  Kanauj  to  Bihar,  and  from  the 
Ganges  to  the  Himalaya  Tarai,  and  occupied  most 
of  the  country  corresponding  roughly  with  the  later 
kingdom  of  Oudh  between  the  dominions  of  Delhi 
and  Bengal. 


MEDIy^VAL  INDIA 


1 68 

Jaunpur,  the  town  of  Jauna,  i.  e.  Mohammad  Tagh- 
lak,  supplanting  the  many-templed  Hindu  city  of 
Ratagarh  (afterwards  named  by  the  Muslims  Zafara- 
bad,  ‘triumph-town’),  was  the  first  Mohammedan 


FORT  OF  JAUNPUR,  EAST  GATE. 


stronghold  planted  in  the  very  midst  of  the  most 
Hindu  part  of  northern  India.  Mahmud  of  Ghazni 
had  never  reached  this  point,  but  legend  records 
the  triumphant  march  of  his  nephew,  the  youthful 
and  heroic  Salar  Mas'ud,  who  ravaged  the  land  up 
to  the  gates  of  Benares  and  threw  down  the  temples 
of  Ratagarh.  He  met  his  death  in  battle  with  the 


KINGS  OF  THE  EAST 


i6g 


Hindus,  and  dwells  for  ever  in  the  reverent  memory 
of  the  Muslims,  who  for  centuries  visited  his  grave 
at  Bahraich,  where  the  martyr  prince  is  said  to  have 
appeared  to  the  aged  sultan  Firoz  and  warned  him 
of  his  approaching  end.'  On  the  site  of  the  temple 
where  Ramachandra  slew  the  giant  demon  Kavala- 
vira,  still  the  scene  of  Hindu  worship,  Firoz  built 
the  fort  which  developed  into  the  populous  capital 
of  the  Shark!  kings.  Sarwar’s  successors,  descended 
from  his  adopted  sons,  the  children  of  Karanfal  {i.c. 

‘ Clove  ’),  a slave  water-bearer  of  Firoz’s  court,  not 
only  maintained  the  integrity  of  their  dominions 
and  resisted  the  attacks  of  Ikbal  Khan  and  the 
Delhi  troops,  but  made  Jaunpur  a seat  of  learning,  a 
refuge  for  men  of  letters  in  those  days  of  confusion 
and  strife,  and  an  example  of  noble  building. 

Ibrahim  Shah,  who  reigned  from  1401  to  1440, 
was  the  most  distinguished  figure  among  the  six 
‘ Kings  of  the  East.’  He  not  only  repelled  alike  the 
military  and  the  diplomatic  advances  of  Mahmud, 
the  sultan  of  Delhi,  but  even  invaded  the  capital 
himself  in  1413  during  the  confusion  which  ensued 
upon  Mahmud’s  death,  retiring  however  when  Khizr 
Khan  appeared  upon  the  scene.  The  Sayyids  tried 
conclusions  with  Ibrahim  in  1427,  but  after  a well- 
fought  battle  beside  the  Jumna  peace  was  ratified  by 
the  marriage  of  Bibi  the  daughter  of  Mubarak  Shah 
to  the  crown  prince  of  Jaunpur.  An  invasion  by  the 
king  of  Malwa  in  1435  was  rewarded  by  the  capture 

' See  A.  Fuhrer  and  E.  W.  Smith,  The  Sharqi  Architecture  of 
yaunpur,  2 — 16,  to  which  the  following  account  of  Sharki  history 
is  indebted. 


170 


MEDIALVAL  IXDIA 


of  Kalpi,  which  had  been  a bone  of  contention  be- 
tween the  three  kingdoms  of  Delhi.  Jaunpur,  and 
Malwa;  but  thenceforward  to  his  death  Ibrahim 
re'gned  in  peace,  an  energetic  and  benevolent  prince, 
beloved  of  his  people,  a zealous  Muslim,  and  an  en- 


ATALA  nEVI  MOSQUE,  AT  JAU.NPUR. 

lightened  patron  of  art  and  learning.  The  beautiful 
Atala  mosque  built  in  1408  is  his  chief  monument. 
Its  characteristic  feature,  a lofty  inner  gateway  of 
simple  grandeur,  recalling  the  propylon  of  Egyptian 
temples,  supplied  the  place  of  a minaret,  and  con- 
cealed from  the  quadrangle  the  too  dominating 


JA  UNPUR 


171 

outline  of  the  great  dome  wliich  covered  the  house 
of  prayer.  The  graceful  two-storeyed  colonnades, 
five  aisles  deep,  round  the  spacious  quadrangle, 
broken  by  minor  domes  and  gateways,  the  fine  ash- 
lar masonr}^  of  its  plain  buttressed  exterior,  the 
exquisite  and  rich,  yet  never  intricate,  floral  orna- 
ment surrounding  its  doors  and  windows  and  prayer- 
niche,  its  geometrical  trellis  screens  and  panelled 
ceilings,  are  typical  of  a pure  style  of  Saracenic  art, 
with  scarcely  a trace  of  Indian  influence.  Even  in 
such  a land  of  precious  stones  of  architecture,  the 
Atala  Masjid  remains  a gem  of  the  first  water. 

Ibrahim’s  successor  Mahmud,  whose  eighteen 
years’  reign  was  from  time  to  time  disturbed  by  the 
necessity  or  temptation  to  take  part  in  the  struggle 
then  centred  round  the  decayed  power  of  Delhi, 
which  he  besieged  in  1452,  also  left  a monument  in 
the  mosque  of  the  Lai  Darwaza,  or  Ruby  Gate,  so 
called  from  the  vermilion  entrance  to  the  palace  of 
his  wife  Bibi  Raji,  who  built  the  adjacent  mosque; 
and  their  son  Husain  completed  the  magnificent 
Jami‘  Masjid  or  cathedral  mosque,  which  Mahmud 
had  begun  and  of  which  the  foundation  had  been 
laid  as  far  back  as  the  last  years  of  Ibrahim.  This 
glorious  building,  the  sister  and  the  rival  of  the 
Atala  mosque  of  his  grandfather,  is  a worthy  me- 
morial to  a king  whose  ambition,  urged  by  a high- 
spirited  wife,  another  princess  of  Delhi,  soared  to 
the  possession  of  the  throne  of  Mohammad  Taghlak  ; 
and  whose  campaigns  extended  his  frontier  till  they 
embraced  Etawa,  Sambhal,  and  Badaun,  made  the 
raja  of  Gwaliar  his  vassal,  and  spread  the  terror  of 


172 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


his  arms  over  Orisa.  The  new  Afghan  king  of  Delhi, 
Buhlol,  was  too  strong  for  him  in  the  end,  and  a fatal 
battle  near  Kanauj  in  1477  deprived  Husain  of  all 
his  possessions.  He  was  allowed  to  dwell  for  some 
years  at  the  city  which  he  and  his  ancestors  had  em- 
bellished, and  then  fled  to  Bihar,  whilst  his  sup- 
planter,  the  son  of  Buhlol,  laid  low  his  beautiful 
capital,  demolished  the  stately  palaces,  destroyed 
the  royal  tombs,  and  was  with  difficulty  dissuaded 
from  razing  even  the  mosques  to  the  ground.  The 
kingdom  of  Delhi  once  more  touched  the  frontier 
of  Bengal. 

Malwa.  At  the  time  when  the  new  state  of 
Jaunpur  was  beginning  to  wedge  itself  between 
Delhi  and  Bengal,  two  other  powerful  kingdoms 
broke  away  from  the  central  power  under  local  dy- 
nasties in  Malwa  and  Gujarat.  One  of  Firoz  Shah’s 
great  fiefholders,  Dilawar  Khan,  a descendant  of  the 
Ghori  kings,  who  held  the  fief  of  Dhar  among  the 
spurs  of  the  Vindhya  range,  made  himself  independ- 
ent in  1401  during  the  confusion  that  followed 
Timur’s  invasion,  and  soon  extended  his  authority 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  ancient  Hindu  kingdom 
of  Malwa,  which  had  resisted  the  encroachments  of 
the  Muslims  up  to  the  time  of  Balban,  but  had 
since  been  a province  more  or  less  subject  to  the 
kings  of  Delhi.  The  old  capital,  Ujjain,  had  been  a 
famous  seat  of  Indian  learning,  but  the  new  dynasty 
deserted  it  for  a new  city  which  Hushang  the 
son  of  Dilawar  built  at  Mandu  on  a small  plateau 
among  the  Vindhya  slopes.  The  situation  of  Malwa, 


MAL  WA 


173 


west,  involved  the  new  state  in  frequent  wars,  and 
its  kings  in  turn  attacked  one  or  other  of  tlieir 
neighbours.  The  murder  of  Dilawar’s  grandson 


hedged  in  by  warring  states,  Delhi  and  Jaunpur  on 
the  north  and  the  rising  power  of  Gujarat  on  the 


TOWER  OK  VICTORY  AT  CHITOR. 


174 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Mohammad  in  1435  by  his  vezir,  Mahmud  the  Khalji, 
set  the  assassin  on  the  throne,  and  Mahmud  raised 
the  kingdom  of  Malwa  to  its  greatest  strength. 
Though  his  siege  of  Delhi  was  unsuccessful,  his 
campaigns  against  Jaunpur,  the  Rajputs,  and  the 
Deccan  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of  Kalpi  on  the 
Jumna,  Ajmir  and  Rantambhor  in  Rajputana,  and 
Elichpur  south  of  the  Satpura  range.  His  per- 
petual conflicts  with  the  rana  of  Chitor,  however, 
ended  in  a crushing  defeat  in  1440,  the  memory 
of  which  is  still  revived  by  the  lofty  Pillar  of  Vic- 
tory which  Rana  Kumbho  set  up  at  his  capital. 
After  this,  Rajput  influence  gradually  became  su- 
preme in  Malwa ; Rana  Sanga  defeated  the  sec- 
ond Mahmud  as  effectually  as  Rana  Kumbha  had 
humbled  the  first ; and  Medini  Rao,  the  lord  of 
Chanderi,  managed  the  kingdom  as  chief  minister 
of  the  nominal  sovereign,  until  the  invasion  of  India 
by  Babar,  involving  the  defeat  of  the  Rajputs  and 
the  death  of  Medini  Rao,  gave  Bahadur  Shah  of 
Gujarat  the  opportunity  to  take  possession  of  Malwa 

in  1531- 

Gujarat.  An  inaccessible  position,  beyond  the 
great  desert  and  the  hills  connecting  the  Vindhyas 
with  the  Aravali  range,  long  preserved  Gujarat  from 
the  Mohammedan  yoke.  Only  by  sea  was  it  easily 
approached,  and  to  the  sea  it  owed  its  peculiar  ad- 
vantages, its  favouring  climate  and  fertile  soil,  and 
the  wealth  which  poured  in  from  the  great  commer- 
cial emporia  of  Cambay,  Diu,  and  Surat.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Indian  trade  with  Persia,  Arabia, 


GUJARAT 


175 


and  the  Red  Sea  passed  through  its  harbours,  be- 
sides a busy  coasting  trade.  ‘ The  benefit  of  this 
trade  overflowed  upon  the  country,  which  became  a 
garden,  and  enriched  the  treasury  of  the  prince. 
The  noble  mosques,  colleges,  palaces,  and  tombs,  the 


GOLD  COIN  OF  GHIYAS  SHAH  OF  MALWA  A.  H.  880  (A.  D.  I475-6). 

remains  of  which  still  adorn  Ahmadabad  and  its 
other  cities  to  this  day,  while  they  excite  the  ad- 
miration of  the  traveller,  prove  both  the  wealth  and 
the  taste  of  the  founders.’ ‘ Not  till  the  reign  of 
Ala-ad-din  at  the  close  of  the  13th  century  did  it 
become  a Muslim  province,  and  a century  later  it 
became  independent  again  under  a dynasty  of  Mus- 
lim kings.  Their  beginning  resembled  the  birth  of 
the  Malwa  state.  Firoz  Shah  in  1391  granted  the 
fief  of  Gujarat  to  Zafar  Khan,  the  son  of  a converted 
Rajput,  and  five  years  later  the  fiefholder  assumed 
the  royal  canopy.  He  soon  enlarged  his  dominions, 
at  first  but  a strip  between  hills  and  sea,  by  the 
annexation  of  Idar  to  the  north  and  Diu  in  Kathia- 
war, plundered  Jhalor,  and  even  took  possession  of 
Malwa  for  a short  space  in  1407,  setting  his  brother 
on  the  throne  in  the  place  of  Hushang  the  son 
of  Dilawar.  His  successor  Ahmad  I founded  the 


* Erskine,  History  of  India,  i,  21. 


1/6 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


fortress  of  Ahmadnagar,  and  also  Ahmadabad,  which 
has  ever  since  been  the  chief  city  of  Gujarat,  and 
recovered  Bombay  and  Salsette  from  the  Deccan 
kings.  Mahmud  I not  only  carried  on  the  tra- 
ditional,wars  of  his  dynasty  with  Malwa  on  the  east 
and  Khandesh  on  the  south,  but  kept  a large  fleet 
to  subdue  the  pirates  of  the  islands. 

Nor  were  Asiatic  pirates  the  only  disturbers  of 
his  coast.  The  first  of  the  three  great  waves  of 
European  invasion  was  already  beating  on  the 
shores  of  Gujarat.  Vasco  da  Gama  had  reached 
the  Malabar  ports  in  1498,  and  the  effects  of  the 
new  influence  were  soon  felt  further  north.  The 
Portuguese  had  no  more  intention  at  first  of  found- 
ing an  eastern  empire  than  the  later  Dutch  and 
English  companies.  The  hostility  of  the  Muslim 
traders  compelled  them  to  protect  their  agents,  and 
a commercial  policy  was  necessarily  supported  by 
military  power.  The  position  of  invaders  was  forced 
upon  the  Portuguese,  as  it  was  later  on  upon  the 
English.  The  collision  was  brought  about  by  the 
spirited  action  of  the  last  Mamluk  sultan  of  Egypt. 
Kansuh  el-Ghuri,  realizing  the  imminent  jeopardy 
of  the  great  Indian  trade  which  supplied  so  much  of 
the  wealth  of  Egypt,  resolved  to  drive  the  Portu- 
guese from  the  Arabian  Sea.  His  appeal  and  threats 
to  the  pope  had  no  effect,  and  there  remained  the 
resort  to  arms.  The  Mamluks  had  long  maintained 
a fleet  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  Admiral  Husain  was 
dispatched  in  1508  to  Gujarat  with  a well-equipped 
war  squadron  manned  with  sailors  who  had  often 
fought  with  Christian  fleets  in  the  Mediterranean. 


PORTUGUESE  IN  GUJARAT 


177 


He  was  joined  by  the  fleet  of  Gujarat,  commanded 
by  the  governor  of  Diu,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Portuguese  captain,  Lourengo  de  Almeida,  to  pre- 
vent their  union;  and  the  combined  fleet  was  in 
every  respect  superior  to  the  flotilla  of  Christian 
merchantmen  which  boldly  sailed  out  of  the  port  of 
Chaul  to  the  attack.  The  Portuguese  were  defeated 
in  a running  fight  which  lasted  two  days,  and  the 
young  captain,  son  of  the  famous  viceroy,  was 
killed.  ‘ His  ship  was  surrounded  on  every  side ; 
his  leg  was  broken  by  a cannon-ball  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  action  ; nevertheless  he  had  him- 
self placed  upon  a chair  at  the  foot  of  the  mainmast, 
and  gave  his  orders  as  coolly  as  ever.  Shortly  after- 
wards a second  cannon-ball  struck  him  in  the  breast, 
and  the  young  hero,  who  was  not  yet  twenty-one, 
expired,  in  the  words  of  Camoens,  without  knowing 
what  the  word  surrender  meant.’  He  was  avenged 
a few  months  later  when  on  Feb.  2,  1509,  his 
father,  the  viceroy  P'rancisco  de  Almeida,  utterly 
defeated  the  combined  fleet  of  Egypt  and  Gujarat 
off  Diu.  In  the  following  year  the  king  of  Gujarat 
offered  Albuquerque,  the  conqueror  of  Goa,  the 
port  of  Diu,  and  a Portuguese  factory  was  there 
established  in  1513,  though  the  celebrated  fortress 
of  the  Christian  invaders  was  not  built  till  1535.' 

Though  unable  to  withstand  the  Portuguese  — or 
perhaps  not  unwilling  to  see  his  powerful  deput}^ 
at  Diu  humiliated — Bahadur  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  figures  among  the  warrior  kings  of  Gujarat. 

' See  Lane-Poole,  History  of  Egypt  in  the  Middle  Ages,  352  ; 
Morse  Stepiie.ns,  Albuquerque,  36-38. 

12 


1/8 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


The  Rajputs  of  the  hills  and  the  kings  of  the 
Deccan  owned  his  superiority,  and  in  1531  he  an- 
nexed Mahva.  A Rajput  rising  and  the  advance  of 
the  Moghuls  under  Humayun  the  son  of  Babar  fora 
time  destroyed  his  authority,  as  will  presently  be 
seen,  but  he  recovered  it  bravely,  only  to  fall  at  last. 


GOLD  COIN  OF  MAHMUD  SHAH  OF  GUJARAT,  A.  H.  946  (A.  D.  I539-40). 

drowned  in  a scuffle  with  the  Portuguese  whom  he 
had  admitted  to  his  coast.  The  final  absorption  of 
Gujarat  in  the  Moghul  empire  in  1572  belongs  to  a 
later  chapter. 

Deccan.  Nothing  has  been  said  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Deccan  since  the  reign  of  Mohammad  Taghlak, 
after  whose  time  no  king  of  Delhi  had  ever  held 
authority  south  of  the  Vindhyas.  The  rebellions 
which  embittered  the  last  years  of  that  too  ingenious 
sovereign  had  nowhere  been  more  successful  than  in 
his  favourite  province  of  the  south.  The  revolt  of 
the  ‘new  amirs’  in  Sind,  which  hastened  his  end, 
was  but  a part  of  a larger  movement,  and  its  centre 
was  in  the  Deccan.  Here  a brave  and  capable 
Afghan,  Hasan  Gangu,  who  had  risen  from  menial 
service  at  Delhi  to  high  command  in  the  southern 
armies,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  disaffected, 
and  defeated  the  royal  troops  near  Bidar.  No  at- 


THE  DECCAN 


179 


tempt  was  made  to  suppress  the  revolt,  for  the  king 
was  too  deeply  engaged  in  endeavouring  to  restore 
order  nearer  home  ; and  Hasan  Gangu  became  king 
of  the  Deccan  (1347).  His  dominions  included 
almost  all  that  the  campaigns  of  Ala-ad-din  and 
Mohammad  Taghlak  had  won  from  the  Hindu  rajas 
of  the  great  southern  plateau.  The  valley  of  the 
Tapti  was  independent  under  the  separate  dynasty 
of  the  kings  of  Khandesh,  an  offshoot  of  Gujarat, 
who  maintained  their  distinct  though  limited  power 
at  their  new  capital  Burhanpur  from  1370  to  the  con- 
quest of  Akbar  in  1599.  the  rest  of  the  Dec- 

can,  from  Elichpur  in  Berar  down  to  the  Krishna 
and  Tungabhadra  rivers,  and  across  from  the  Ara- 
bian Sea  to  Mahur,  Ramgir,  and  Indore  on  the 
frontier  of  Warangal,  was  under  the  rule  of  the  new 
dynasty  of  the  Bahmanids,  founded  by  Hasan  Gangu. 
On  the  east  the  Hindu  kingdom  of  Warangal  barred 
his  access  to  the  Bay  of  Bengal ; and  on  the  south, 
beyond  the  Krishna,  stretched  the  great  empire  of 
Vijayanagar,  the  last  bulwark  of  Hindu  power  in 
the  Deccan,  which,  gathering  together  the  frag- 
ments scattered  by  the  tumultuous  assaults  of  Mo- 
hammad Taghlak,  formed  a mighty  state,  able  to 
parry  every  onslaught  of  the  Muslims  for  two  centu- 
ries to  come. 

Hasan  Gangu  Zafar  Khan  fixed  his  capital  at  Kul- 
barga,  near  the  Bhima,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  ‘ the 
fairest  city,’  Ahsanabad  ; and  here  his  descendants 
ruled  till  1526  over  most  of  what  is  now  called  the 
Bombay  Presidency  and  the  Nizam’s  Territory.  On 
the  north,  beyond  an  occasional  dispute  with  Gujarat, 


i8o 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


there  was  little  trouble  ; but  the  kingdom  of  War- 
angal  or  Telingana,  supported  by  the  raja  of  Orisa, 
was  a standing  menace  to  the  Muslim  power, 
though  Mohammad  I reduced  it  to  tributary  submis- 
sion varied  by  intermittent  hostilities.  In  1422 
Ahmad  Shah  I invaded  Warangal,  captured  its  prince, 
and  shot  him  from  a catapult  on  the  walls  into  a 
flaming  wood-pile  which  he  had  prepared  below. 
The  heavy  loss  he  suffered  on  his  march  back  did 
not  discourage  him,  and  three  years  later  he  extin- 
guished the  native  dynasty  and  annexed  their  terri- 
tory ; but  the  fact  that  the  Hindus  of  Warangal 
ventured  to  retaliate  in  1461,  and  even  marched  as 
far  as  Bidar,  shows  that  the  annexation  soon  became 
little  more  than  nominal. 

The  power  of  the  Bahmanid  dynasty  must  have 
been  overwhelming  to  have  reduced  the  empire  of 
the  Carnatic  to  even  occasional  subjection.  The  raja 
of  Vijayanagar  ruled  not  only  what  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  kingdom  of  M\’sore  but  the  whole 
country  between  the  Krishna  (or  rather  its  tributary, 
the  Tungabhadri)  and  the  Kaveri,  stretching  from 
coast  to  coast,  from  iMangalore  on  the  west  to  Con- 
jeveram  on  the  east,  and  from  Karnal  on  the  north 
to  Trichinopoli  on  the  south.  Yet  this  great  Hindu 
empire  was  repeatedly  forced  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
Bahmanids,  and  never  succeeded  in  winning  a vic- 
tory over  them.  Vijayanagar  coveted  the  triangle 
of  land  between  the  upper  course  of  the  Krishna  and 
the  Tungabhadri  river,  known  as  the  Raichur  Doab, 
with  its  fortresses  of  Mudkal  and  Raichur,  and  the 
campaigns  of  the  14th  and  \ 5th  centuries  centred  in 


VIJA  Y AN  AGAR 


l8l 


this  territory  : but  the  Bahmanids  steadily  kept  their 
grip  on  it,  and  never  permanently  lost  a fortress  or  a 
mile  of  ground.  In  the  earliest  campaign  the  raja 
led  30,000  horse,  100,000  foot,  and  3,000  elephants,  to 
the  assault  of  Mudkal  in  the  debatable  land,  and  for 
the  moment  triumphed  in  the  capture  of  the  for- 
tress and  the  massacre  of  the  Muslims  (1366).  But 
Mohammad  I,  the  son  of  Hasan  Gangu,  vas  soon  on 
his  track.  Standing  on  the  banks  of  the  Krishna  he 
vowed  that  he  would  neither  eat  nor  sleep  till  he 
had  crossed  in  face  of  the  enemy  and  avenged  his 
slaughtered  saints.  He  crossed,  and  the  raja  fled  ; 
abandoning  his  camp  and  70,000  men,  women,  and 
children,  on  whom  the  sultan  wreaked  his  vengeance 
without  mercy.  The  Bahmanid  kings  had  no  bowels 
of  compassion,  and  it  is  related  of  one  of  them  that 
whenever  the  number  of  Hindus  massacred  at  one 
time  reached  20,000  it  was  his  habit  to  indulge  in  a 
feast. 

Mohammad  continued  his  march  to  Adoni  and 
even  to  the  capital  Vijayanagar  itself,  which  he 
vainly  besieged  for  a month.  This  campaign,  in 
which  he  repeatedly  vanquished  the  enemy,  and  laid 
the  Carnatic  waste,  is  said  to  have  cost  the  lives  of 
half  a million  Hindus,  and  it  was  only  after  ambassa- 
dors had  urgently  pleaded  with  him  that  the  sultan 
consented  to  forego  his  custom  of  indiscriminate 
slaughter  and  pledged  his  successors,  somewhat  In- 
effectually, to  the  like  clemency.  Another  campaign 
waged  by  his  son  Mujahid  in  1378  was  undertaken 
for  the  possession  of  the  strong  fortress  of  Banka- 
pur,  south  of  Dharwar,  and  after  several  victories 


medieval  INDIA 


182 

and  hunting  the  raja  from  place  to  place,  and  after 
restoring  the  mosque  on  the  sea-coast  which  Kafur 
had  founded  nearly  seventy  years  before,  Mujahid 
led  his  army  back  to  the  Krishna  with  over  60,000 
prisoners,  chiefly  women.  He  was  murdered  on  his 
way  home  by  his  uncle  Dawud,  but  the  change  of 
rulers  made  no  difference  in  the  superiority  of  the 
Muslim  kingdom.  Vijayanagar  paid  an  annual 
tribute,  or  if  it  withheld  it  there  was  war  and 
humiliation. 

The  most  signal  discomfitures  of  the  Hindus  oc- 
curred in  the  reign  of  Firoz  the  son  of  Dawud.  On 


GOLD  COIN  OF  FIROZ,  STRUCK  AT  AHSANABAD,  A.H.  807  (A.D.  I404-5). 

the  first  occasion  (1398)  Vijayanagar  was  the  aggres- 
sor, the  object  being  as  usual  the  regaining  of  Mud- 
kal  and  Raichur.  Firishta  tells  a quaint  story  of 
how  a grave  kazi  and  his  friends  insinuated  them- 
selves into  the  not  very  fastidious  favour  of  the 
nautch  girls  of  the  enemy’s  camp,  and  disguised  as 
dancing  women  contrived  to  get  themselves  smug- 
gled into  the  presence  of  the  raja’s  son,  whom  they 
diverted  with  a sword-dance  which  ended  in  the 
plunging  of  their  daggers  into  the  prince’s  breast. 
This  catastrophe,  followed  up  by  a night  attack, 
caused  the  flight  of  the  raja,  and  Vijayanagar  had  to 


BAHMANID  CONQUESTS 


183 


pay  400, 000  to  get  the  enemy  over  the  border.  In 
1406,  as  the  annual  tribute  had  not  been  rendered, 
Firoz  again  invaded  the  Carnatic.  The  war  was 
provoked  by  the  raja,  who,  hearing  of  a lovely  but 
coy  maiden  in  Mudkal,  marched  upon  the  fortress  to 
secure  her,  but  instead  of  succeeding  in  his  amorous 
quest  not  only  found  the  maiden  fled  but  learnt  that 
the  army  of  Kulbarga  was  on  his  track.  Firoz  took 
Bankapur,  which  his  predecessor  had  vainly  coveted, 
and  did  not  retire  till  the  enemy  had  again  suffered 
the  loss  of  60,000  prisoners.  Not  only  did  the  raja 
surrender  the  fortress  ; he  even  yielded  a princess  to 
the  sultan’s  harim  — an  humiliating  degradation  for 
a Hindu  sovereign — ^ together  with  immense  treas- 
ure, and  was  actually  obliged  to  admit  his  foe  as  a 
guest  within  the  walls  of  the  capital.  An  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  Bahmanid  wars  was  the  adoption 
of  the  ‘ Rumi,’  i.  e.  Ottoman,  custom  of  forming  a 
laager  of  linked  wagons  to  protect  the  camp.  As  we 
shall  see,  Babar  employed  this  mode  of  defence  with 
the  addition  of  chained  gun-carriages.  Other  cam- 
paigns followed  in  1419,  1423,  1435,  and  1443,  ac- 
companied by  the  usual  Bahmanid  victories  and 
massacres,  the  destruction  of  temples  and  Brahman 
colleges,  and  general  devastation,  and  ending  in  the 
invariable  submission  and  tribute  of  the  Hindu  state.' 

The  unsuccessful  siege  (1459)  of  Devarakanda  in 


' The  history  of  Vijayanagar  may  be  read  in  the  recent  valuable 
work  of  Mr.  Robert  Sewell,  A Forgotten  Empire^  in  which  the 
annals  of  Firishta  are  supplemented  by  the  records  of  oriental  and 
Portuguese  travellers,  and  the  campaigns  are  examined  with  much 
topographic  learning. 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


184 

the  Telugu  country  by  the  Bahmanid  Humayun — 
an  oriental  Nero  — shows  that  the  power  of  the  dy- 
nasty was  limited  by  Hindu  chiefs  to  the  east;  but 
the  conquests  of  Mohammad  II  between  1476  and 
1481,  when  Rajamandari,  Kandapali,  and  Kandavid 
were  wrested  from  the  raja  of  Orisa,  the  sultan’s 
arms  triumphed  ov^er  Masulipatan,  and  Belgaon 
was  added  on  the  west,  raised  the  kingdom  of  Kul- 
barga  to  its  greatest  glory  and  extent.  The  pride  was 
very  shortly  followed  by  the  fall,  but  the  blow  did 
not  come  from  rival  empires.  The  kingdom  broke 
up  from  internal  causes.  The  succession  of  two 
young  sons  of  Humayun  under  a regency  weakened 
the  royal  authority,  and  though  the  wise  administra- 
tion of  a great  minister,  Mahmud  Gawan,  and  a 
decade  of  vigorous  campaigns  of  aggression  secured 
a vast  extension  of  territory  and  an  unprecedented 
degree  of  prosperity,  the  unjust  execution  of  the 
minister  and  the  subsequent  demoralization  of  king 
and  state  led  to  the  disruption  of  an  empire  that 
had  outgrown  its  cohesion.  A recent  division  into 
large  provincial  governments  hastened  the  dissolu- 
tion. During  the  reign  of  Mohammad’s  youthful 
son,  Mahmud  Shah  II,  the  various  provinces  shook 
off  the  parent’s  yoke.  Imad-al-mulk  was  crowned 
king  in  Berar(i484);  Yusuf  Adil  Shah  proclaimed 
the  independence  of  the  newly  created  government 
of  Bijapur  in  1489;  Nizam-al-mulk  prepared  the 
way  for  the  separation  of  Junair.  Thus  the  most 
important  provinces  in  the  north,  west,  and  south- 
west were  lost  ; and  early  in  the  i6th  century 
(1512)  Telingana,  never,  very  firmly  held,  followed 


BAHMANID  CONQUESTS 


185 


the  rest  and  declared  its  independence.  Mahmud 
Shah,  once  a cap^tive,  next  a refugee,  died  at  Bidar, 
which  had  for  some  time  superseded  Kulbarga  as 
the  dynastic  capital,  in  1518,  and  w'ith  him  the 
power  of  the  Bahmanids  came  to  an  end,  though 
three  sons  and  a grandson  mounted  a nominal  throne 
during  the  next  eight  years. 

Their  dominions  were  divided  among  the  Adil 
Shahs  of  Bijapur  (1489-1686),  the  Kutb  Shahs  of 
Golkonda  (1512-1687),  the  Barid  Shahs  of  Bidar 
(1492-C.  1609),  the  Nizam  Shahs  of  Ahmadnagar 
(1490-1595),  and  the  Imad  Shahs  of  Berar  (1484- 
1572).  Of  these  dynasties  we  shall  hear  again  when 
we  come  to  the  Deccan  wars  of  Aurangzib.  It  is 
now  time  to  turn  to  a new  invasion  of  India  from 
the  north-west,  which  gradually  converted  a country 
divided  among  numerous  petty  dynasties  into  a 
united  and  powerful  empire,  and  founded  the  long 
line  of  the  great  Moghuls  which  endured  to  the  days 
of  the  Mutiny. 


BOOK  III 

THE  MOGHUL  EMPIRE 

1526-1764 


187 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  MOGHULS 


THE  EMPEROR  BABAR 


1451-1530 


HE  Muslims  of  India  had  grown  effete.  The 


old  hardy  vigour  which  had  enabled  the  hills- 
men  to  trample  upon  the  rich  and  ancient  civilization 
of  the  Hindus  was  extinct.  A race  of  conquerors 
had  become  a squabbling  crowd,  jostling  each  other 
for  the  luxuries  of  thrones,  but  wanting  the  power 
to  hold  a sceptre.  The  respect  which  belonged  to  a 
caste  of  foreigners,  who  kept  themselves  apart  and 
observed  strict  rules  of  religious  and  social  law,  had 
been  degraded  when  those  laws  were  lightly  es- 
teemed, when  the  harims  of  the  Muslims  were  filled 
with  native  women,  when  Hindus  who  nominally 
professed  Islam  were  promoted  to  high  office, — when 
the  Mohammedan  domination,  in  short,  had  become 
the  rule  of  the  half-caste.  The  empire  of  Delhi  had 
disappeared.  The  greater  provinces  had  their  separ- 
ate kings,  the  smaller  districts  and  even  single  cities 
and  forts  belonged  to  chiefs  or  clans  who  owned  no 


189 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


190 

higher  lord.  The  king’s  writ  was  no  more  supreme  ; 
it  was  the  day  of  the  little  princes,  the  Muluk-at- 
tawaif  or  Faction-Kings. 

Something,  it  is  true,  had  been  done  to  restore  the 
vanished  power  of  Delhi  during  the  century  that 
followed  the  collapse  of  the  Taghlak  dynasty  after 
the  invasion  of  Timur.  The  Sayyids  utterly  failed, 
but  their  successors  the  Lodi  Afghans  showed  at 
first  both  energy  and  wisdom.  Buhlol,  who  sup- 
planted the  last  of  the  feeble  Sayyids  in  1451,  was  a 
good  soldier  and  a simple  man,  who  was  content  to 
let  the  world  know  that  he  was  king  without  parad- 
ing the  pomp  of  monarchy.  He  took  the  minor 
principalities  round  Delhi  in  hand,  and  after  a stub- 
born war  of  over  a quarter  of  a century  succeeded 
(as  we  have  seen)  in  recovering  Jaunpur  and  its 
territories  and  restoring  the  old  frontier  of  his  king- 
dom as  far  as  Bihar.  His  son  Sikandar,  succeeding 
him  in  1488,  completed  his  task  by  subduing  Bihar, 
where  Husain  the  last  king  of  Jaunpur  had  taken 
refuge,  and  by  a treaty  of  alliance  with  the  king 
of  Bengal  it  was  arranged  that  the  dominion  of 
Delhi  should  march  with  that  of  Bengal  as  in  former 
times.  The  Rajputs  of  Dholpur,  Chanderi,  and  Gwal- 
iar  submitted  ; and  Sikandar’s  kingdom,  including  the 
Panjab,  the  Doab,  Jaunpur,  Oudh,  Bihar,  Tirhut,  and 
the  country  between  the  Sutlej  and  Bandelkhand, 
began  to  recall  the  earlier  supremacy  of  Delhi. 

The  resemblance  was  only  on  the  surface,  how- 
ever, and,  as  Erskine  has  pointed  out  in  his  judicious 
history,'  ‘ these  extensive  possessions,  though  under 
' \V.  Erskine,  History  of  India  under  Baber  and  Humayun,  i,  406, 


THE  LODI  KINGS 


19I 

one  king,  had  no  very  strong  principle  of  cohesion. 
The  monarchy  was  a congeries  of  nearly  independent 
principalities,  jagirs,  and  provinces,  each  ruled  by  an 
hereditary  chief,  or  by  a zemindar  or  delegate  from 
Delhi ; and  the  inhabitants  looked  more  to  their 
immediate  governors,  who  had  absolute  power  in 
the  province  and  in  whose  hands  consequently  lay 
their  happiness  or  misery,  than  to  a distant  and 
little-known  sovereign.  It  was  the  individual,  not 
the  law,  that  reigned.  The  Lodi  princes,  not  merely 
to  strengthen  their  own  power,  but  from  necessity, 
had  in  general  committed  the  government  of  the 
provinces  and  the  chief  offices  of  trust  to  their  own 
countrymen,  the  Afghans  ; so  that  men  of  the  Lodi, 
Fermuli,  and  Lohani  tribes  held  all  the  principal 
jagirs;  which  from  the  habitual  modes  of  thinking 
of  their  race  they  considered  as  their  own  of  right 
and  purchased  by  their  swords  rather  than  as  due 
to  any  bounty  or  liberality  on  the  part  of  the 
sovereign.’ 

A throne  depending  on  the  allegiance  of  ‘an  aris- 
tocracy of  rapacious  and  turbulent  chiefs’  demands 
politic  concessions  on  the  part  of  the  monarch. 
Afghans  above  most  men  resent  an  undue  assump- 
tion of  superiority  and  tolerate  with  difficulty  the 
tedious  etiquette  and  obsequious  ceremony  of  a 
formal  court.  Their  king  must  be  their  chief,  a 
bon  camarade  and  admitted  leader  in  arms,  but 
he  [must  not  give  himself  airs  or  show  a want  of 
respect  for  the  free  and  outspoken  clansmen  upon 
whose  swords  his  dominion  rests.  Unfortunately  the 
new  sultan  of  Delhi,  Ibrahim  son  of  Sikandar,  who 


192 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


succeeded  his  father  in  1518,  was  a man  of  forms  and 
a stickler  for  royal  prerogative.  He  made  the  great 
Afghan  chiefs  stands  motionless  in  his  presence  with 
folded  hands  and  vexed  them  with  petty  rules  of 
etiquette.  Dreading  their  power — already  displayed 
in  the  support  given  by  an  influential  faction  to  his 
brother  Jalal,  who  had  been  nominated  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  Jaunpur  and  made  a rash  and  unsuc- 
cessful effort  to  share  a divided  crown — instead  of 
attempting  to  disarm  them  by  favour  and  concession, 
he  sought  to  reduce  them  to  a sense  of  their  in- 
feriority by  treating  his  lower  subjects  with  the 
same  degree  of  consideration  that  he  showed  to  the 
Afghan  nobles.  When  discontent  arose,  and  revolt 
after  revolt  sprang  up,  he  endeavoured  to  quench 
the  rising  conflagration  by  the  blood  of  some  of  the 
leading  amirs. 

The  result  was  still  wider  disaffection.  The  eastern 
districts  about  Oudh,  Jaunpur,  and  Bihar,  where 
Afghan  influence  was  especially  strong,  rose  in  arms 
and  chose  Darya  Khan,  of  the  Lohani  tribe,  as  their 
chief.  In  the  Panjab,  Daulat  Khan,  a son  of  one  of 
the  half  dozen  Afghan  nobles  who  had  set  the  Lodi 
dynasty  on  the  throne  of  Delhi  seventy  years  be- 
fore, rebelled  in  alarm  at  the  execution  of  some  of 
the  leading  chiefs.  The  rule  of  sultan  Ibrahim  had 
become  intolerable  even  to  his  own  nation,  and  his 
uncle  Ala-ad-din  fled  to  Kabul  to  solicit  the  aid  of 
its  king,  the  descendant  of  Timur,  in  wresting  the 
crown  of  Delhi  from  its  ill-advised  possessor. 

The  king  of  Kabul  was  not  the  man  to  shrink 
from  an  adventure  of  any  kind  ; the  wilder  and  the 


BABAR'S  MEMOIRS 


193 


more  daring  it  seemed,  the  better  he  liked  it.  Babar 
is  perhaps  the  most  captivating  personality  in 
oriental  history,  and  the  fact  that  he  is  able  to 
impart  this  charm  to  his  own  Memoirs  is  not  the 
least  of  his  titles  to  fame.  He  is  the  link  between 
Central  Asia  and  India,  between  predatory  hordes 
and  imperial  government,  between  Timur  and  Akbar. 
The  blood  of  the  two  great  scourges  of  Asia,  Mongol 
and  Turk,  Chingiz  and  Timur,  mixed  in  his  veins, 
and  to  the  daring  and  restlessness  of  the  nomad 
Tatar  he  joined  the  culture  and  urbanity  of  the 
Persian.  He  brought  the  energy  of  the  Mongol,  the 
courage  and  capacity  of  the  Turk,  to  the  subjection 
of  the  listless  Hindu;  and,  himself  a soldier  of 
fortune  and  no  architect  of  empire,  he  yet  laid  the 
first  stone  of  the  splendid  fabric  which  his  grandson 
Akbar  completed. 

‘His  connexion  with  India  began  only  in  the  last 
twelve  years  of  his  life.  His  youth  was  spent  in 
ineffectual  struggles  to  preserve  his  sovereignty  in 
his  native  land.  His  early  manhood,  passed  in  his 
new  kingdom  of  Kabul,  was  full  of  an  unsatisfied 
yearning  for  the  recovery  of  his  mother  country. 
It  was  not  till  the  age  of  thirty-six  that  he  abandoned 
his  hope  of  a restored  empire  on  the  Oxus  and 
laxartes,  and  turned  his  eyes  resolutely  towards  the 
cities  and  spoils  of  Hindustan.  Five  times  he  in- 
vaded the  northern  plains,  and  the  fifth  invasion 
was  a conquest.  Five  years  he  dwelt  in  the  India 
he  had  now  made  his  own,  and  in  his  forty-eighth 
year  he  died. 

‘His  permanent  place  in  history  rests  upon  his 


194 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Indian  conquests,  which  opened  the  way  for  an  im- 
perial line  ; but  his  place  in  biography  and  in  litera- 
ture is  determined  rather  by  his  daring  adventures 
and  persevering  efforts  in  his  earlier  days,  and  by 
the  delightful  Memoirs  in  which  he  related  them. 
Soldier  of  fortune  as  he  was,  Babar  was  not  the  less 
a man  of  fine  literary  taste  and  fastidious  critical 
perception.  In  Persian,  the  language  of  culture,  the 
Latin  of  Central  Asia,  as  it  is  of  India,  he  was  an 
accomplished  poet,  and  in  his  native  Turki  he  was 
master  of  a pure  and  unaffected  style  alike  in  prose 
and  verse.  The  Turkish  princes  of  his  time  prided 
themselves  upon  their  literary  polish,  and  to  turn  an 
elegant  ghazal,  or  even  to  write  a beautiful  manu- 
script, was  their  peculiar  ambition,  no  less  worthy  or 
stimulating  than  to  be  master  of  sword  or  mace. 
Wit  and  learning,  the  art  of  improvising  a quatrain 
on  the  spot,  quoting  the  Persian  classics,  writing  a 
good  hand,  or  singing  a good  song,  were  highly 
appreciated  in  Babar’s  world,  as  much  perhaps  as 
valour,  and  infinitely  more  than  virtue.  Babar  him- 
self will  break  off  in  the  middle  of  a tragic  story  to 
quote  a verse,  and  he  found  leisure  in  the  thick  of 
his  difficulties  and  dangers  to  compose  an  ode  on 
his  misfortunes.  His  battles  as  well  as  his  orgies 
were  humanized  by  a breath  of  poetry. 

‘ Hence  his  Memoirs  are  no  rough  soldier’s  chron- 
icle of  marches  and  countermarches,  “ saps,  mines, 
blinds,  gabions,  palisadoes,  ravelins,  half-moons,  and 
such  trumpery  ” ; they  contain  the  personal  impres- 
sions and  acute  reflections  of  a cultivated  man  of  the 
world,  well-read  in  Eastern  literature,  a close  and 


THE  EMPEROR  BAliAR. 


195 


196 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


curious  observer,  quick  in  perception,  a discerning 
judge  of  persons,  and  a devoted  lover  of  nature, — 
one,  moreover,  who  was  well  able  to  express  his 
thoughts  and  observ^ations  in  clear  and  vigorous  lan- 
guage. The  man’s  own  character  is  so  fresh  and 
buoj’ant,  so  free  from  convention  and  cant,  so  rich 
in  hope,  courage,  resolve,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
warm  and  friendly,  so  very  human,  that  it  conquers 
one’s  admiring  sympathy.  The  utter  frankness  and 
self-revelation,  the  unconscious  portraiture  of  all  his 
virtues  and  follies,  his  obvious  truthfulness  and  fine 
sense  of  honour  give  the  Memoirs  of  this  prince  of 
autobiographers  an  authority  which  is  equal  to  their 
charm. 

‘ The  line  of  emperors  who  proceeded  from  Babar’s 
loins  is  no  more.  The  very  name  of  Mongol  has  lost 
its  influence  on  the  banks  of  laxartes  ; the  Turk  is 
the  servant  of  the  Russian  he  once  despised.  The 
last  Indian  sovereign  of  Timur’s  race  ended  his  in- 
glorious career  an  exile  at  Rangoon  almost  within 
our  own  memory  ; a few  years  later  the  degenerate 
descendants  of  Chingiz  Kaan  submitted  to  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Tsar.  The  power  and  pomp  of  Babar’s 
dynasty  are  gone  ; the  record  of  his  life  — the  littera 
scripta  that  mocks  at  time  — remains  unaltered  and 
imperishable.’  ‘ 

Babar’s  earlier  career  must  be  read  elsewhere : it 
began  far  away  from  India,  in  the  country  beyond 
the  Oxus  where  the  descendants  of  Timur  struggled 
for  the  remaining  fragment  of  the  vast  empire  which 

' See  Lane-Poole,  Babar  (Clarendon  Press,  1900),  from  which 
much  of  the  present  chapter  is  derived. 


BABAR'S  YOUTH 


197 


had  broken  up  as  soon  as  his  iron  hand  was  stif?ened  in 
death.  Timur’s  conquests  were  too  recent,  too  hasty, 
to  be  organized  into  settled  empire.  They  were  like 
a vast  conflagration  driven  before  the  wind,  which 
destroys  the  herbage  for  a while,  but  when  the  flame 
has  passed  the  earth  grows  green  again.  Even  in 
the  original  home,  the  Oxus  land,  a single  century 
saw  the  downfall  of  Timur’s  dynasty:  the  fire  had 
only  left  some  embers,  which  smouldered  awhile, 
but,  lacking  the  kindling  and  stirring  of  the  great  in- 
cendiary, finally  died  out.  After  that,  the  sole  relic 
of  Timur’s  vast  dominions  was  the  little  kingdom 
which  an  exiled  prince  of  his  own  brave  blood  set  up 
among  the  crags  and  passes  of  the  Afghan  hills  — 
whence  came  the  great  Moghuls  * and  the  glories 
of  Delhi  and  Agra. 

It  was  among  these  embers  of  the  great  fire  that 
Babar,  in  1494,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  found  himself 
suddenly  king  of  the  province  of  Farghana  beside 
the  laxartes,  by  right  of  inheritance  in  the  sixth 
generation  from  Timur.  No  boy  had  ever  to  face 

’ ‘ Moghul’ — more  accurately  Mughal  — is  the  Arabic  spelling  of 
Mongol,  and  is  specially  applied  to  the  emperors  of  India  descended 
from  Babar  and  sometimes  called  in  Europe  the  Babarids.  They 
were  however  of  mixed  race  ; Babar  himself  was  a Turk  on  his 
father’s  side,  though  a Mongol  on  his  mother's,  and  he  abhorred  the 
very  name  of  Moghul.  Ills  descendants  introduced  a strong  Rajput 
strain  by  their  marriages  with  Hindu  princesses.  The  term  Moghul 
is  also  applied  to  the  followers  of  the  Moghul  emperors,  and  came  to 
mean  any  fair  man  from  Central  Asia  or  Afghanistan,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  darker  native  Indians.  The  various  foreign  in- 
vaders, or  governing  Muslim  class,  Turks,  Afghans,  Pathans,  and 
Moghuls  eventually  became  so  mixed  that  all  were  indifferently  termed 
Moghuls. 


198 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


such  perilous  paths  as  those  which  led  the  young 
king  of  Farghana  to  the  heights  of  his  soaring  ambi- 
tion. He  would  reign  where  Timur  reigned  at  Sa- 
markand, and  there  hold  sway  over  the  empire  of  his 
ancestor  : nothing  less  would  content  him.  But  the 
road  to  empire  lay  among  jealous  kinsmen,  treacher- 
ous chiefs,  mutinous  retainers,  and  the  ever-growing 
power  of  the  hostile  Uzbeg  tribes.  Twice  did  Babar 
seat  himself  upon  Timur’s  throne,  and  twice  was  he 
expelled  to  wander  a homeless  exile  among  the  hills, 
dwelling  in  the  shepherds’  huts,  or  suffering  the 
ungracious  protection  of  his  mother’s  Mongol  rela- 
tions in  the  northern  steppes.  Ten  years  of  cease- 
less effort,  brief  triumph,  sore  defeat,  and  grinding 
misery,  all  borne  with  that  courage  and  sanguine 
hope  that  were  among  his  finest  qualities,  ended  in 
his  retreat  to  Kabul,  where  he  took  the  little  throne 
which  had  been  held  by  Timur’s  lineage  ever  since 
his  raid  into  India.  Here  Babar  made  himself  a 
kingdom,  small  compared  with  the  dominion  of  the 
present  amir  of  Afghanistan,  but  not  easy  to  hold,  with 
its  turbulent  and  jealous  tribes  and  rocky  barriers. 

But  a mountain  chiefship  was  no  fit  ambition  for 
a king  who  had  twice  ruled  Samarkand.  Babar’s 
dreams  still  reverted  to  the  land  of  his  forefathers, 
and  only  the  disastrous  failure  of  his  third  attempt  to 
recover  Timur’s  capital  in  1512  convinced  him  that 
the  true  road  to  empire  led  down  the  passes  into  the 
rich  plains  of  Hindustan.  His  thoughts  had  often 
turned  towards  the  east  whilst  he  was  bringing  into 
order  the  restless  tribes  of  his  mountain  realm,  and 
several  times  his  expeditions  led  him  very  near  the 


BABAR  A T LAHORE 


199 


Indian  frontier  ; but  he  had  been  twenty  years  at 
Kabul  before  he  carried  his  thoughts  into  decisive 
action  and  began  his  campaign  of  conquest.  An  at- 
tack in  1519  on  Bajaur,  in  the  Indian  borderland 
near  Chitral,  with  which  recent  history  has  made  us 
familiar,  was  merely  a preliminary  step,  though  fol- 
lowed by  the  occupation  of  Bhira  on  the  Jehlam.  Ba- 
bar  had  thus  set  his  foot  upon  the  Panjab,  and  claimed 
it  in  right  of  his  ancestor  Timur’s  conquest  a hund- 
red and  twenty  years  before  ; but  it  was  no  more 
than  a claim,  for  the  moment  he  turned  back  to 
Kabul  the  Indians  recovered  the  territory,  and  Ba- 
bar’s  occupation,  with  a couple  of  thousand  horse, 
was  but  a raid.  It  was  not  till  1524  that  he  entered 
resolutely  upon  the  campaigns  which  ended  in  the 
conquest  of  Hindustan. 

The  appeal  of  Alam  Khan  Ala-ad-din,  the  uncle  of 
sultan  Ibrahim,  already  noticed,  was  but  the  spark 
that  kindled  a long-prepared  train.  The  claimant  to 
the  throne  of  Delhi  appeared  at  Kabul  to  urge  a 
petition  that  was  already  granted  in  Babar’s  own 
mind.  No  more  propitious  moment  could  be  de- 
sired. India  was  seething  with  faction  and  discon- 
tent. Babar  was  strong  and  prepared,  and  at  his 
side  was  a member  of  the  Lodi  family  to  sanction 
his  plans  and  invite  adhesion.  The  emperor  was 
soon  on  the  march,  and  following  his  previous  route 
to  Bhira  was  quickly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lahore. 
The  insurgent  governor,  Daulat  Khan,  had  already 
been  driven  out  by  the  Delhi  army,  but  he  was 
amply  avenged  by  the  Kabul  troops,  who  routed 
the  enemy  with  heavy  slaughter,  and  chased  them 


200 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


through  the  streets  of  Lahore,  plundering  and  burn- 
ing the  bazar.  Babar  rested  only  four  days  in  the 
capital  of  the  Panjab,  and  then  pressed  on  at  his  best 
speed  to  Dipalpur,  where  he  stormed  and  sacked  the 
town,  and  massacred  the  garrison.  He  appointed 
some  of  his  most  trusty  officers  to  defend  the  pro- 
vince, and  having  established  ‘ sultan  ’ Ala-ad-din  at 
Dipalpur  (with  a veteran  Mongol  to  watch  him),  the 
emperor  returned  to  Kabul  to  beat  up  reinforcements. 

Babar  set  out  on  his  final  invasion  of  India  in  No- 
vember, 1525.  His  eldest  son,  Humayun,  brought 
a contingent  from  Badakhshan,  and  Khwaja  Kalan, 
trustiest  of  generals,  led  the  troops  of  Ghazni. 
Daulat  Khan,  after  deceiving  the  invaders  with  pre- 
tended support,  was  now  in  the  field  against  them 
at  the  head  of  40,000  men,  and  the  old  Afghan  had 
girded  on  two  swords  in  token  of  his  resolve  to  win 
or  die.  Nevertheless  this  valiant  army  broke  and 
vanished  at  Babar’s  approach  with  a far  less  numer- 
ous force,  and  the  emperor  continued  his  advance. 

‘The  decisive  battle  was  fought  on  April  21, 
1526,  on  the  plain  of  Panipat — the  historic  site 
where  the  throne  of  India  has  been  thrice  won. 
I'or  several  days  Babar  was  busy  with  his  prepara- 
tions. He  collected  seven  hundred  gun-carts,  and 
formed  a laager  by  linking  them  together  with 
twisted  bull-hides,  to  break  a cavalry  charge,  and  by 
arranging  hurdles  or  shields  between  each  pair  to 
protect  the  matchlock  men.'  Then  two  marches 
more  brought  the  army  to  Panipat.  Here  he  had 

' Baggage-wagons  were  probably  used  to  supplement  gun-carriages 
in  forming  a breastwork.  Babar  frequently  mentions  that  the  ar- 


BA  TTLE  OF  PANIPA  T 


201 


the  town  on  his  right,  his  left  was  defended  by 
ditches  and  abatis  of  trees,  while  he  placed  his 
cannon  and  matchlocks  in  the  centre.  He  was  care- 
ful to  leave  gaps  in  his  line  a bowshot  apart,  through 
which  lOO  or  150  men  could  charge  abreast. 

‘ On  the  20th  of  April  a night  surprise  was  at- 
tempted upon  the  Afghans’  position,  and  though  it 
failed,  owing  to  the  confusion  of  the  troops  in  the 
darkness,  it  had  the  effect  of  drawing  the  enemy  out 
of  his  camp.  Sultan  Ibrahim,  elated  by  the  ease 
with  which  this  attack  had  been  driven  back,  brought 
his  army  out  at  dawn  on  the  21st  in  battle  array. 
It  was  said  to  muster  100,000  men  and  100  elephants. 
The  moment  Babar  detected  the  movement  of  the 
enemy,  his  men  were  ordered  to  put  on  their  helmets 
and  mail,  and  take  up  their  stations.  His  army  was 
drawn  up  behind  his  laager  in  the  usual  order,  right 
and  left  centre,  right  and  left  wing,  advance  guard, 
and  reserve;  but  in  addition  he  had  placed  flanking 
parties  of  Mongols  on  the  extreme  right  and  left, 
with  orders  to  execute  their  famous  national  ma- 
noeuvre, the  tulughma — a rapid  wheel  charging  the 
enemy’s  rear — of  which  Babar  well  knew  the  tre- 
mendous effect. 

rangement  of  his  chained  carriages  was  copied  from  the  ‘ Rumi,’  i.  e. 
Osmanli,  order  of  battle.  At  the  battle  of  Khaldiran  in  1514, 
between  the  Osmanlis  and  the  Persians,  the  former  not  only  chained 
their  guns  together,  but  ‘ set  up  their  usual  breastwork  of  bag- 
gage-wagons and  camels  in  front  of  the  Janizaries,’  thus  using  a 
wagon  laager  in  the  centre  as  well  as  chained  guns  at  the  extremities 
of  their  line  of  battle.  Mr.  Oman  tells  me  that  the  use  of  war-carts, 
formed  and  manoeuvred  in  hollow  squares,  was  invented  by  the  Hus- 
sites in  the  Bohemian  wars  to  resist  the  German  cavalry. 


202 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


‘The  army  of  Delhi  came  straight  on,  at  a quick 
march,  without  a halt  from  the  start.  They  seemed 
to  be  aiming  at  Babar’s  right,  and  he  sent  up  the 
reserve  to  its  support.  As  the  enemy  came  up  to 
the  ditches,  abatis,  and  hurdles,  they  hesitated,  and 
the  pressure  of  the  troops  behind  threw  them  into 
some  confusion.  Taking  advantage  of  this  Babar 
sent  out  his  Mongol  flankers  through  the  gaps  in 
the  laager,  and  they  galloped  round  the  enemy  and 
poured  their  arrows  into  the  rear.  Part  of  the  em- 
peror’s left  wing,  advancing  incautiously,  got  into 
difficulties;  but  the  general’s  eye  was  on  them,  and 
they  were  promptly  supported  from  the  centre. 
Meanwhile  the  right  was  also  hard  pressed  and 
Babar  sent  forward  his  right  centre  to  their  assist- 
ance. The  master-gunner,  Ustad  AH,  made  pretty 
practice  with  his  jirengi  pieces,  in  front  of  the  line, 
and  was  admirably  seconded  by  Mustafa,  the  can- 
noneer on  the  left  centre.  The  enemy  was  now 
engaged  on  all  sides,  front,  flanks,  and  rear;  and 
their  charges,  which  seemed  ineffective  to  men 
who  had  stood  up  to  the  Mongols’  swoop,  were 
easily  repulsed  and  driven  back  upon  their  cen- 
tre, which  was  already  too  crowded  to  be  able 
to  use  its  strength.  In  this  jammed  confusion 
they  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  hardy  Turks  and 
Mongols,  who  fell  upon  the  strangled  ranks  with 
deadly  effect. 

‘ By  noon  the  great  army  of  the  king  of  Delhi  was 
broken  and  flying  for  dear  life.  Sultan  Ibrahim 
himself  lay  stark  on  the  field,  amidst  some  fifteen 
thousand  of  his  dead.  They  brought  his  head  to 


£A  TTLE  OF  PANIPA  T 


203 


Babar,  and  prisoners,  elephants,  and  spoil  of  all  sorts 
began  to  come  in  from  the  pursuers.  “ The  sun  had 
mounted  spear-high  when  the  onset  began,  and  the 
battle  lasted  till  mid-day,  when  the  enemy  were 
completely  broken  and  routed,  and  my  people  vic- 
torious and  triumphant.  By  the  grace  and  mercy 
of  Almighty  God  this  difficult  affair  was  made 
easy  to  me,  and  that  mighty  army,  in  the  space 
of  half  a day,  was  laid  in  the  dust.”  Two  de- 
tachments were  at  once  dispatched  to  occupy 
Delhi  and  Agra,  and  on  Friday,  April  27,  the  pub- 
lic prayer  was  said  in  the  mosque  of  the  capital  in 
the  name  of  the  new  Emperor,  the  first  of  the 
“ Great  Moguls.”  ’ 

The  spoil  of  the  royal  treasuries  at  Delhi  and 
Agra  was  immense  and  the  first  business  was  to 
divide  the  booty  among  the  expectant  troops.  To 
his  eldest  son  Humayun,  who  had  played  his  part 
like  a man  in  the  great  battle,  he  gave  seventy  lacs  (of 
dams,  i.  e.  about  20,000)  and  a treasure  which  no 
one  had  counted.  His  chief  Begs-  were  rewarded 
with  six  to  ten  lacs  apiece  (iJ’ 1,700  to  jC2,8oo). 
Every  man  who  had  fought  received  his  share,  and 
even  the  traders  and  camp-followers  were  remem- 
bered in  the  general  bounty.  Every  man  and 
woman,  slave  and  free,  young  and  old,  in  Kabul, 
was  sent  a silver  coin  in  celebration  of  the  victory. 
When  Humayun  brought  his  father  the  glorious 
diamond,  one  of  the  famous  historical  jewels,  valued 
at  ‘ half  the  daily  expenses  of  the  world,’  which  the 
family  of  the  late  Raja  Vikramajit  had  given  him 
in  gratitude  for  his  chivalrous  protection,  Babar 


204 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


gave  it  back  to  the  young  prince.'  He  had  no  love 
for  wealth  or  precious  stones,  except  to  give  away^ 
and  his  prodigal  generosity  in  distributing  the  im- 
mense spoil  of  the  Delhi  kings  gained  him  the 
nickname  of  ‘the  Kalandari  ’ — the  begging-friar. 
He  was  content  with  fame. 

Babar  was  now  king  of  Delhi,  but  not  yet  king  of 
Hindustan,  much  less  of  India.  Even  of  the  domin- 
ions of  Delhi'  which  then  stretched  from  the  Indus 
to  Bihar,  and  from  Gwaliar  to  near  the  Himalayas, 
he  was  only  nominally  master.  The  Lodi  dynasty, 
indeed,  was  dethroned,  and  its  king  slain,  but  that 
king  left  a brother  to  claim  the  crown,  and  the  land 
remained  unsubdued  east  and  south  of  Agra.  The 
people  were  hostile  to  the  strangers  of  uncouth 
tongue,  and  each  town  and  petty  ruler  prepared  for 
obstinate  resistance.  The  strongholds  of  the  Doab 
and  Rajputana  were  all  fortifying  against  attack, 
unanimous  in  rejecting  the  newcomers.  In  spite  of 
the  surfeit  of  treasure,  Babar’s  troops  were  like  to 
starve.  ‘ When  I came  to  Agra,’  he  says,  ‘ it  was 
the  hot  season.  All  the  inhabitants  fled  from  terror, 
so  that  we  could  find  neither  grain  for  ourselves  nor 
fodder  for  our  beasts.  The  villages,  out  of  mere 
hatred  and  spite  to  us,  had  taken  to  anarchy,  thiev- 
ing, and  marauding.  The  roads  became  impassable. 
I had  not  had  time,  after  the  division  of  the  treasure, 
to  send  fit  persons  to  occupy  and  protect  the  differ- 
ent parganas  and  stations.  The  heats  this  year 

’ Perhaps  the  famous  Koh-i-nur  ; see  an  interesting  article  by  Mr. 
H.  Bevicridge  in  the  Calcutta  Review,  1897,  in  which  the  history  of 
this  diamond  is  traced,  and  Ball’s  Travels  of  Tavernier,  ii,  app.  i. 


CONQUEST  OF  DELHI 


205 


chanced  to  be  unusually  oppressive,  and  many  men 
dropped  at  about  the  same  time,  as  though  struck 
by  the  samum,  and  died  on  the  spot.’ 

The  troops  began  to  murmur.  They  longed  for 
the  cool  air  of  Kabul,  and  even  made  ready  to  re- 
turn. They  looked  upon  India  as  a buccaneer  looked 
on  a gallion  : the  prize  money  secured,  they  wished 
to  make  sail.  They  had  to  deal  with  an  obstinate 
man,  however,  and  Babar  summoned  the  chief  officers 
together  and  made  them  a speech.  He  recalled  their 
past  toil  and  labours  together,  the  weary  marches 
and  grievous  hardships,  and  reminded  them  that  all 
these  had  been  endured  for  the  sake  of  the  great  re- 
ward which  was  now  theirs.  ‘A  mighty  enemy  had 
been  overcome,  and  a rich  and  powerful  kingdom 
was  at  their  feet.  And  now,  having  attained  our 
goal  and  won  our  game,  are  we  to  turn  back  from  all 
we  have  accomplished  and  fly  to  Kabul  like  men  who 
have  lost  and  are  discomfited?  Let  no  man  who 
calls  himself  my  friend  ever  again  moot  such  a thing. 
But  if  there  be  any  one  of  you  who  cannot  bring 
himself  to  stay,  then  let  him  go.’  Thoroughly 
ashamed,  the  murmurers  dared  not  say  a word. 
There  are  few  acts  more  splendidly  heroic  in  Babar’s 
career  than  this  bold  resolve  to  stay  where  he  was— 
in  the  middle  of  India,  among  hostile  nations,  and  a 
discontented  soldiery  — and  the  reward  of  his  firm- 
ness soon  appeared.  Not  only  his  own  people  but 
many  of  his  enemies  were  won  over.  First  an 
Afghan  officer  came  with  a valuable  contingent  of 
two  or  three  thousand  retainers  from  the  Doab.  Then 
a powerful  chief  was  won  by  the  emperor’s  clemency 


2o6 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


to  his  captured  sons.  Meanwhile  Sambhal  was  taken 
by  guile  ; and  Humayun  led  an  army  against  the  in- 
surgent Afghans  in  the  east,  who  were  advancing  into 
the  Doab,  but  immediately  broke  up  om  his  approach 
and  fled  over  the  Ganges.  The.  young  prince  pur- 
sued, took  Jaunpur  and  Ghazipur,  and  leaving  strong 
divisions  to  hold  his  conquests,  marched  back  by 
way  of  Kalpi  to  support  his  father  against  a pressing 
danger. 

For  Babar  was  now  coming  to  the  grip  with  the 
only  formidable  rival  left  in  Hindustan.  The  great 
Rana  Sanga  of  Chitor,  the  revered  head  of  all  the 
Rajput  princes,  commanded  a vast  army.  One  hund- 
red and  twenty  chieftains  of  rank,  with  8o,000  horse 
and  500  war  elephants,  followed  him  to  the  field. 
The  lords  of  Marwar  and  Amber,  Gwaliar,  Ajmir, 
Chanderi,  and  many  more,  brought  their  retainers 
to  his  standards ; and  the  battered  old  hero,  who 
counted  eighty  wounds  in  his  body,  and  had  lost  an 
arm  and  an  eye  in  the  wars,  was  not  to  be  denied 
when  his  drums  beat  to  battle.  The  famous  Rana 
was  now  marching  on  Biana.  The  emperor  sent  on 
a light  detachment  towards  the  threatened  fortress, 
with  orders  to  hang  on  the  enemy  and  harass  him  ; 
and  himself  set  out  with  his  main  body  in  battle 
array  on  February  ii,  1527.  All  his  campaigns 
hitherto  had  been  against  fellow  Muslims;  now,  for 
the  first  time,  he  was  marching  against  ‘heathens’; 
it  was  the  Jihad,  the  Holy  War.  Moreover  these 
‘heathens’  were  fighting  men  of  the  first  class. 
Babar  had  some  experience  of  the  warlike  capacities 
of  various  races.  He  knew  the  Mongol  wheeling 


PVA/?  WITH  RAJPUTS 


207 


swoop,  the  Uzbeg  charge,  the  Afghan  skirmish,  and 
the  steady  fighting  of  his  own  Turks;  but  he  was 
now  to  meet  warriors  of  a higher  type  than  any  he 
had  encountered.  ‘The  Rajputs,  energetic,  chival- 
rous, fond  of  battle  and  bloodshed,  animated  by  a 
strong  national  spirit,  were  ready  to  meet  face  to  face 
the  boldest  veterans  of  the  camp,  and  were  at  all 
times  prepared  to  lay  down  their  life  for  their 
honour.’ 

‘ The  emperor  camped  at  Sikri  — afterwards 
Akbar’s  exquisite  palace-city  of  Fathpur  — where  he 
was  joined  by  the  garrison  from  Biana.  These  men 
had  already  received  a lesson  from  the  Rajputs,  of 
whose  bravery  and  daring  they  spoke  with  deep 
respect.  The  enemy  was  evidently  not  one  that 
could  be  trifled  with.  An  outpost  affair  soon  con- 
firmed this  impression  : an  incautious  advance  by 
one  of  the  amirs  was  instantly  detected  by  the 
Rajputs,  who  sent  the  Turks  flying  back  to  camp. 
Being  now  in  touch  with  the  enemy,  the  emperor 
put  his  army  in  battle  array.  As  before  at  Panipat, 
he  ranged  the  gun-carriages,  and  probably  the  bag- 
gage-wagons, so  as  to  cover  his  front,  and  chained 
them  together  at  a distance  of  five  paces.  Mustafa 
from  Turkey  ordered  his  artillery  admirably  in  the 
Ottoman  manner  on  the  left  wing,  but  Ustad  Ali  had 
a method  of  his  own.  Where  there  were  no  guns 
or  wagons,  a ditch  was  dug,  backed  by  portable 
wooden  tripods  on  wheels,  lashed  together  at  a few 
paces  apart.’  These  preparations  took  twenty-five 
days,  and  were  designed  to  restore  the  confidence  of 
the  troops,  who  were  almost  in  a panic  at  the  reports 


2o8 


MEDIAiVAL  INDIA 


of  the  numbers  and  courage  of  the  Rajputs  and  at 
the  foolish  predictions  of  a rascally  astrologer. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  that  Babar  renounced  wine, 
broke  his  drinking  cups,  poured  out  the  stores  of 
liquor  on  the  ground,  and  calling  his  dispirited 
officers  together,  addressed  them  : ‘ Gentlemen  and 
Soldiers,  — Every  man  that  comes  into  the  world 
must  pass  away ; God  alone  is  immortal,  unchange- 
able. Whoso  sits  down  to  the  feast  of  life  must  end 
by  drinking  the  cup  of  death.  All  visitors  of  the  inn 
of  mortality  must  one  day  leave  this  house  of  sorrow. 
Rather  let  us  die  with  honour  than  live  disgraced. 

With  fame,  though  I die,  I am  content, 

Let  fame  be  mine,  though  life  be  spent. 

God  most  high  has  been  gracious  in  giving  us  this 
destiny,  that  if  we  fall  we  die  martyrs,  if  we  conquer 
we  triumph  in  His  holy  cause.  Let  us  swear  with 
one  accord  by  the  great  name  of  God  that  we  will 
never  turn  back  from  such  a death,  or  shrink  from 
the  stress  of  battle,  till  our  souls  are  parted  from  our 
bodies.’ 

The  response  was  enthusiastic.  Every  man  seized 
the  Koran  and  took  the  oath,  and  the  army  began  to 
pluck  up  heart.  Babar  resolved  to  advance  upon  the 
enemy.  On  New  Year’s  Day,  March  I2,  he  writes  : — 
‘ I advanced  my  wagons  [and  guns]  and  tripods  with 
all  the  apparatus  and  machines  that  I had  prepared, 
and  marched  forward  with  my  army  in  order  of 
battle  — right  wing,  left  wing,  and  centre  in  their 
places.  In  front  were  the  wagons,  gun-carriages,  and 
tripods  on  wheels,  and  behind  came  Ustad  Ali  Kuli 


BATTLE  OF  KAN  WALL  A 


209 


with  a body  of  his  matchlock  men,  to  prevent  the 
communication  being  cut  off  between  the  artillery 
and  the  infantry  behind,  and  to  enable  them  to  ad- 
vance and  form  into  line.  When  the  ranks  were 
formed  and  every  man  in  his  place,  I galloped  along 
the  line,  encouraging  the  begs  and  men  of  the  cen- 
tre, right,  and  left,  giving  special  directions  to  each 
division  how  to  act,  and  to  each  man  orders  how  to 
proceed  and  engage.  Then,  when  all  was  arranged, 
I moved  the  army  on  in  order  of  battle  for  a couple 
of  miles,  when  we  camped.’  On  Saturday  March 
16,  1527,  "the  two  armies  met  at  Kanwaha.  The 
battle  began  by  a desperate  charge  of  the  Rajputs 
upon  the  emperor’s  right,  which  he  instantly  sup- 
ported from  his  reserves,  whilst  opening  fire  with  his 
artillery  from  the  centre.  It  was  impossible  to  stop 
a Rajput  charge,  however  ; they  came  on,  wave  after 
wave,  against  the  cannon,  and  the  fight  grew  more 
and  more  desperate.  After  several  hours  of  hand 
to  hand  conflict  Babar  sent  orders  to  his  flanking 
columns  to  wheel  and  charge  in  the  famous  Mongol 
tactics,  whilst  at  the  same  time  he  ordered  his  guns 
forward  and  sent  out  the  household  troops  at  the 
gallop  on  each  side  of  his  centre  of  matchlock-men, 
who  also  advanced  firing.  This  combined  manoeuvre 
shook  the  enemy.  Few  Indians  will  fight  when 
taken  in  the  rear.  The  Rajputs  were  pressed  into  a 
disordered  crowd,  and  nothing  but  their  indomitable 
gallantry  prolonged  a battle  that  was  fast  becoming  a 
massacre.  Ustad  Ali’s‘ huge  balls’ did  fearful  execu- 
tion, and  at  last  the  splendid  chivalry  of  India  gave 

up  hope,  forced  its  way  through  the  encompassing 
14 


210 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Turks,  and  fled  in  every  direction,  leaving  heaps 
of  slain  upon  the  fields.  Many  chiefs  had  fallen, 
and  the  heads  of  the  noble  Rajputs  rose  in  a ghastly 
tower  erected  by  their  conqueror.  Sanga  escaped, 
severely  wounded,  and  died  soon  after,  but  no  raja  of 
his  line  ever  again  took  the  field  in  person  against  an 
emperor  of  Babar’s  house. 

Within  a year  the  invader  had  struck  two  decisive 
blows,  which  shattered  the  power  of  two  great  forces. 
At  Panipat  the  Mohammedan  Afghans  went  down ; 
Kanwaha  crushed  the  confederacy  of  the  bravest 
Hindus.  The  storming  of  the  fortress  of  Chanderi, 
the  stronghold  of  Medini  Rao,  the  great  Rajput  vezir 
of  Malwa,  completed  the  overthrow.  When  the 
upper  fort  was  carried,  the  desperate  garrison  killed 
their  women  and  children,  and  rushing  forth  naked 
threw  themselves  upon  the  Muslim  swords,  and  such 
as  came  through  leaped  over  the  ramparts  to  certain 
death.  There  was  no  more  trouble  with  the 
Rajputs. 

It  was  otherwise  with  the  Afghans.  Beaten  at 
Delhi  they  were  still  strong  in  Bihar,  and  had  even 
resumed  the  offensive  when  they  saw  the  emperor 
absorbed  in  the  Rajput  campaign.  But  their  time 
of  retribution  was  at  hand,  and  as  soon  as  Chanderi 
had  fallen  Babar  set  out  in  February,  1528,  to  reduce 
the  eastern  province.  The  Afghans  fell  back  from 
Kanauj  at  his  approach,  and  awaited  him  on  the 
further  bank  of  the  Ganges.  Babar  set  up  his  camp 
opposite  and  ordered  a pontoon  to  be  thrown  across 
the  sea-like  stream.  ‘ The  Afghans  mocked  at  so 
wild  a project,  but  the  bridge  went  on  ; and  the 


‘ MALIK-I-MAIDAN  ’ ; GIGANTIC  HOWITZER  CAST  BY  MOHAMMAD  RUMI  INI548  AT  AHMADNAGAR. 


2 12 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


skilful  fire  of  the  matchlocks  and  artillery,  discharged 
from  an  island  and  from  a battery  on  the  bank,  pro- 
tected the  engineers  who  were  constructing  the 
pontoon.  Ustad  Ali  even  succeeded  in  firing  off 
the  big  cannon  called  ‘Dig  Ghazi’  (‘victorious 
gun,’  a title  it  had  won  in  the  battle  of  Kanwaha) 
no  less  than  sixteen  times  a day,  which  was  clearly 
a record  performance  at  that  time.  On  March  13 
the  bridge  was  finished,  and  some  of  the  infantry 
and  the  Panjab  troops  were  sent  over  to  skirmish. 
On  the  three  following  days  the  artillery  and  the 
whole  of  the  imperial  forces  were  safely  got  across, 
but  the  enemy,  after  stubbornly  fighting,  decamped. 
They  were  hotly  pursued  nearly  as  far  as  Oudh, 
with  the  loss  of  their  families  and  baggage,  and 
many  were  overtaken  and  slain.  The  Afghan  army 
was  utterly  dispersed  for  the  time,  and  Babar 
returned  to  Agra  for  the  rainy  season.’ 

The  city  was  a very  different  place  from  the  Agra 
he  had  found.  He  delighted  in  running  water,  and 
had  sunk  wells  and  built  tanks  among  the  tamarinds 
beside  the  Jumna,  and  planted  roses  and  narcissi  in 
regular  parterres.  In  India  a ‘garden’  includes 
a dwelling,  and  Babar’s  Charbagh  with  its  marble 
pavilions  and  beds  of  roses  must  have  been  a de- 
lightful palace.  The  Indians,  who  had  never  seen 
this  sort  of  pleasure-ground,  called  it  ‘ Kabul.’ 

‘ He  was  not  left  long  in  repose.  The  Afghans  in 
Bihar  were  not  yet  quelled.  Mahmud  Lodi,  the 
brother  of  sultan  Ibrahim,  had  arrived  among  them, 
and  they  flocked  to  the  standard  of  their  hereditary 
king.  Jaunpur  and  most  of  Bihar  declared  for  him. 


CAMPAIGN  IN  BIHAR 


213 


and  the  many  factions  laid  aside  their  rivalries  for 
the  moment  to  support  the  last  chance  of  an  Afghan 
restoration.  Babar  received  this  news  in  the  middle 
of  January,  1529,  whilst  he  was  staying  at  Dholpur, 
preparing  for  a predatory  campaign  in  Sind.  He  at 
once  returned  to  Agra  and  led  his  army  out.  At  the 
news  of  his  approach  the  large  army  of  the  Afghans, 
numbering,  it  was  said,  a hundred  thousand  men, 
melted  away:  the  Lodi  pretender  fled  from  before 
Chunar,  to  which  he  was  laying  seige  ; Slier  Khan  es- 
caped from  Benares ; and  as  Babar  pressed  on  to  Bu- 
xar,  several  of  the  Afghan  leaders  came  in  to  offer  their 
submission  ; and  their  prince,  finding  himself  almost 
deserted,  sought  protection  with  the  Bengal  army.’ 
The  kingdom  of  Bengal,  as  we  have  seen,  had 
long  been  independent  of  Delhi,  and  Babar  had  no 
immediate  intention  of  subduing  it,  so  long  as  it  did 
not  interfere  with  him.  But  the  protection  it  was 
affording  to  the  rebels  was  not  the  act  of  a friendly 
power,  and  the  massing  of  the  Bengal  troops  on  the 
frontier  was  ominous.  ‘ Reinforced  by  20,000  men 
from  Jaunpur,  Babar  resolved  to  force  the  passage 
of  the  Gogra  in  face  of  the  Bengalis.  He  made 
unusually  elaborate  preparations,  for  he  knew  the 
enemy  were  skilful  gunners,  and  were  in  great  force. 
Ustad  Ali  was  to  plant  his  cannon,  fircngi  pieces, 
and  swivels  on  a rising  ground  at  the  point  between 
the  two  rivers,  and  also  keep  up  a hot  fire  from 
his  matchlock-men  upon  the  Bengali  camp  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Gogra.  A little  below  the  junction 
of  the  rivers,  Mustafa  was  to  direct  a cannonade 
from  his  artillery,  supported  by  matchlocks,  on  the 


214 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


enemy’s  flank,  and  upon  the  Bengal  flotilla  which  lay 
off  an  island.  The  main  army  was  formed  up  in  six 
divisions,  four  of  which,  under  the  emperor’s  son 
Askari,  were  already  north  of  the  Ganges.  These 
were  to  cross  the  Gogra  by  boats  or  fords,  and  keep 
the  enemy  busy  while  the  artillery  was  being  carried 
across,  and  a strong  force  was  sent  ahead  to  divert 
their  attention.  The  fifth  division,  under  Babar  him- 
self was  to  support  Ustad  All’s  batteries  above  the 
confluence,  and  then  to  cross  the  Gogra  under  cover 
of  the  guns;  whilst  the  sixth  went  to  the  support  of 
Mustafa’s  artillery  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ganges. 

‘On  Sunday  and  Monday,  May  2 and  3,  1529, 
these  two  divisions  crossed  the  Ganges  and  on  Tues- 
day they  marched  on  to  the  Gogra.  Ustad  Ali 
at  the  confluence  was  making  excellent  practice  with 
his  jirengis  upon  the  Bengal  vessels  in  the  river. 
Meanwhile  news  came  that  Askari  had  got  his  di- 
visions over  the  Gogra,  and  on  the  morning  of 
Thursday,  May  6,  the  battle  began.  The  Bengal 
army,  as  was  foreseen,  moved  up  the  river  to  meet 
Askari,  and  Babar  at  once  ordered  the  fifth  and 
sixth  divisions  to  cross  anyhow,  swimming,  in  boats, 
or  on  bundles  of  reeds,  and  take  the  enemy  in 
the  rear.  The  movement  was  brilliantly  carried  out 
in  the  face  of  a determined  resistance.  Attacked  in 
front  and  rear  and  flank,  the  enemy  broke  and  fled. 
Good  generals'nip  had  once  more  guided  valour 
to  victory.  The  result  was  the  collapse  of  the 
Afghan  rebellion,  and  the  conclusion  of  a treaty  of 
peace  with  Bengal.  In  three  battles  Babar  had  re- 
duced northern  India  to  submission.’ 


OCCUPATION  OF  HINDUSTAN 


215 


It  was  his  last  exploit.  The  year  and  a half  of 
life  that  remained  to  him  he  spent  chiefly  at  Agra, 
endeavouring  to  set  his  new  empire  in  order.  For 
permanent  organization  there  was  really  no  time. 
A large  part  of  his  dominions  was  under  very  loose 
control  and  the  polity  of  Hindustan  under  his  rule 
was  simply  the  strong  hand  of  military  power.  In 
the  more  settled  regions  the  lands  and  towns  were 
parcelled  out  in  fiefs  among  his  officers  or  jagirdars, 
who  levied  the  land-tax  from  the  cultivators,  the 
duties  from  the  merchants  and  shopkeepers,  and  the 
poll-tax  from  the  Hindus,  and  paid  fixed  contribu- 
tions in  money  and  military  service  to  the  emperor. 
But  the  large  zamindars  or  landholders  were  often 
so  powerful  that  their  dependence  on  the  crown 
was  little  more  than  nominal,  and  India  was  still,  as 
Erskine  observes,  ‘ rather  a congeries  of  little  states 
under  one  prince  than  one  regular  and  uniformly 
governed  kingdom.’  The  tribes  of  the  frontier  and 
hill  districts  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  submitted  in 
more  than  form,  and  in  Sind  on  the  west  and  Bihar 
on  the  east  the  king’s  writ  was  lightly  regarded. 
All  the  different  provinces,  however,  according  to  a 
list  in  Babar’s  Memoirs,  west  to  east  from  Bhira 

9 

and  Lahore  to  Bahraich  and  Bihar,  and  north  to 
south  from  Sialkot  to  Rantambhor,  contributed  to 
the  revenue,  which  is  stated  at  fifty-two  crores  of 
tankas  or  dams,  which  comes  to  ;^2,6oo,000  for 
the  regular  revenue  from  land-tax.  Three  quarters 
of  a century  later  his  grandson  Akbar  drew  a reve- 
nue of  over  18,000,000  from  the  same  source, 
though  from  a considerably  larger  area. 


2i6 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


It  was  probably  during  the  comparative  leisure  of 
his  last  year  that  Babar  wrote  that  valuable  descrip- 
tion of  Hindustan  which  displays  his  undiminished 
interest  in  natural  history,  and  his  singular  quickness 
of  observation.  Though  he  had  conquered  his  new 
empire  he  did  not  love  it.  ‘The  country  and 
towns  of  Hindustan,’  he  writes,  ‘are  extremely  ugly. 
All  its  towns  and  lands  have  a uniform  look ; its  gar- 
dens have  no  walls ; the  greater  part  of  it  is  a level 
plain.’  He  found  ‘the  plains’  monotonous  after 
the  mountain  scenery  of  Kabul  and  the  well-watered 
orchards  of  Farghana.  ‘ Hindustan,  ’ he  adds,  ‘is  a 
country  that  has  few  pleasures  to  recommend  it. 
The  people  are  not  handsome.  They  have  no  idea 
of  the  charms  of  friendly  society.  They  have  no 
genius,  no  intellectual  comprehension,  no  politeness, 
no  kindness  or  fellow-feeling,  no  ingenuity  or  mechan- 
ical invention  in  planning  or  e.xecuting  their  handi- 
crafts, no  skill  or  knowledge  in  design  or  architecture. 
They  have  no  good  horses,  no  good  flesh,  no  grapes 
or  musk-melons,  no  good  fruits,  no  ice  or  cold  water, 
no  good  food  or  bread  in  their  bazars,  no  baths,  or  col- 
leges, or  candles,  or  torches  — never  a candlestick ! ’ 
He  would  not  have  written  this  sweeping  and 
wholly  unjust  condemnation  had  he  lived  longer  in 
India  and  seen  more  of  its  people;  and  he  does 
indeed  admit  that  there  are  adv'antages,  such  as  the 
abundance  of  workmen,  and  the  ‘ pleasant  climate 
during  the  rains’;  but,  on  the  whole,  to  him  ‘the 
chief  excellency  of  Hindustan  is  that  it  is  a big 
country  with  plenty  of  gold  and  silver.’  One  can 
see  that  even  from  his  throne  at  Agra  he  looks  back 


BABAR'S  GRAVE 


217 


with  regret  to  his  own  land,  the  land  of  melons  and 
cool  waters,  and  remembers  with  the  pang  of  the 
exile  the  joyous  days  he  spent  beside  the  Kabul  river. 

He  was  not  the  man  he  had  been.  Fever  and  a 
wandering  restless  life,  joined  to  frequent  bouts  of 
drinking  and  constant  use  of  opium,  had  undermined 
a wonderful  constitution.  'Yet  between  his  fits  of 
fever  his  vigour  remained  extraordinary.  He  could 
take  up  a man  under  each  arm,  and  run  with  them 
round  the  battlements  of  a fortress,  leaping  the  em- 
brasures; and  even  in  March,  1529,  he  notes:  ‘I  swam 
across  the  river  Ganges  for  amusement.  I counted 
my  strokes,  and  found  that  I swam  over  in  thirty- 
three  strokes.  I then  took  breath,  and  swam  back 
to  the  other  side.  I had  crossed  by  swimming  every 
river  I had  met,  except  only  the  Ganges.’  He  was 
also  constantly  in  the  saddle,  and  often  he  did  his 
eighty  miles  a day.  All  this  did  not  make  for  long 
life,  and  Babar’s  snapped  with  the  suddenness  of  an 
overstrained  spring.  He  passed  away  in  his  beauti- 
ful garden  palace  at  Agra,  on  the  26th  of  De- 
cember, 1530, — a man  of  only  forty-eight,  a king 
of  thirty-six  years  crowded  with  hardship,  tumult, 
and  strenuous  energy  — but  he  lies  at  peace  in 
his  grave  in  the  garden  on  the  hill  at  Kabul,  ‘the 
sweetest  spot  ’ which  he  had  chosen  himself,  sur- 
rounded by  those  he  loved,  by  the  sweet-smelling 
flowers  of  his  choice,  and  the  cool  running  stream; 
and  the  people  still  flock  to  the  tomb  and  offer 
prayers  at  the  simple  mosque  which  an  august 
descendant  built  in  memory  of  the  founder  of  the 
Indian  Empire, 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  EBB  OF  THE  TIDE 
HUMAYUN 
1530-1556 

IT  was  no  easy  throne  that  Babar  left  to  his  eldest 
son  in  December,  1530,  nor  was  Humayun  man 
enough  to  fill  it.  Though  only  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  he  was  not  without  experience ; he  had  com- 
manded under  his  father  in  the  Indian  war,  and  gov- 
erned the  outlying  province  of  Badakhshan  beyond 
the  Hindu  Kush.  Babar  had  lavished  good  advice 
upon  the  son  whom  he  loved  above  all  things. 
‘His  presence,’ he  once  wrote,  ‘ opened  our  hearts 
like  rosebuds  and  made  our  eyes  shine  like  torches. 
His  conversation  had  an  ineffable  charm,  and  he 
realized  absolutely  the  ideal  of  perfect  manhood.’ 
The  young  prince  was  indeed  a gallant  and  loveable 
fellow,  courteous,  witty,  and  accomplished  as  his 
father,  warm-hearted  and  emotional,  almost  quixotic 
in  his  notions  of  honour  and  magnanimity,  per- 
sonally brave, — as  indeed  were  all  the  princes  of  his 
house, — and  capable  of  great  energy  on  occasions, 

218 


HUM  A YUN 


219 


But  he  lacked  character  and  resolution.  He  was  in- 
capable of  sustained  effort,  and  after  a moment  of 
triumph  would  bury  himself  in  his  harim  and  dream 
away  the  precious  hours  in  the  opium-eater’s  paradise 
whilst  his  enemies  were  thundering  at  the  gate. 
Naturally  kind,  he  forgave  when  he  should  have 
punished  ; light-hearted  and  sociable,  he  revelled  at 
the  table  when  he  ought  to  have  been  in  the  saddle. 
His  character  attracts  but  never  dominates.  In  pri- 
vate life  he  might  have  been  a delightful  companion 
and  a staunch  friend  ; his  virtues  were  Christian,  and 
his  whole  life  was  that  of  a gentleman.  But  as  a 
king  he  was  a failure.  His  name  means  ‘ fortunate,’ 
and  never  was  an  unlucky  sovereign  more  miscalled. 

The  qualities  most  essential  at  the  time  of  his 
accession  were  a firm  grasp  of  the  military  situation 
and  resolution  to  meet  it.  It  was  a position  that 
called  for  boundless  energy  and  soldierly  genius. 
Babar,  as  we  have  seen,  had  not  conquered  Hin- 
dustan : he  had  only  reduced  to  partial  submis- 
sion a territory  comprising  little  more  than  what 
we  should  now  call  the  Panjab  and  North-West 
Provinces.  He  had  not  annexed  Bengal  to  the  east, 
nor  the  great  provinces  of  Malwa  and  Gujarat,  now 
united  under  one  king,  to  the  south.  The  many 
chiefs  of  Rajputana  were  cowed  but  not  subdued, 
and  in  most  of  the  outlying  parts  of  the  kingdom 
the  Moghul  power  was  but  slightly  recognized. 
Numerous  Afghan  officers  still  held  powerful  fiefs, 
and  these  men  had  not  forgotten  that  the  kings  of 
Delhi  had  been  Afghans  but  a few  years  before. 
When  a member  of  the  deposed  dynasty  appeared 


220 


MEDf^VAL  IND/A 


amongst  them  in  Bihar,  there  were  all  the  materials 
for  a formidable  insurrection.  Thus  even  in  his  in- 
herited dominions — about  an  eighth  part  of  all 
India — Humayun  was  not  secure  from  rivals  and 
revolts. 

Nor  was  he  safe  from  the  hostility  of  his  own 
family.  Babar  had  particularly  commended  his 
other  sons  to  Humayun’s  kindness,  and  never  was 
forbearance  more  cruelly  tried.  There  was  not  one 
of  his  three  brothers  who  did  not  intrigue  against 
him.  Kamran,  the  next  in  age,  had  been  already 
ruler  of  Kabul  under  his  father,  and  not  only  re- 
tained his  western  province  but  annexed  the  Panjab, 
always  professing  his  allegiance  to  Humayun,  whose 
pre-occupations  no  less  than  his  brotherly  kindness 
induced  him  to  tolerate  the  usurpation.  It  was 
short-sighted  policy,  however,  for  with  Kamran 
practically  independent  on  the  north-west  frontier 
the  main  recruiting  ground  of  the  Moghul  army  was 
cut  off.  Hitherto  the  fighting  strength  of  the  Mus- 
lims in  India  had  been  nourished  and  restored  by 
the  hill  tribes  of  Afghanistan  and  the  men  of  the 
Oxus.  Now  that  source  was  dammed,  and  Humayun 
was  forced  to  depend  upon  the  army  already  in 
India,  which  was  constantly  depleted  by  loss  in 
battle,  or  by  natural  causes,  without  any  resources 
of  reinforcement,  and  was  suffering  the  inevitable 
degeneration  that  overtakes  a hardy  race  when  ex- 
posed to  the  luxuries  of  wealth  and  the  influence  of 
an  enervating  climate. 

Kamran,  a surly  ill-conditioned  traitor,  unworthy 
of  Babar’s  seed,  was  the  most  formidable  of  the 


BABAR,  HUMAYUN,  AKBAR,  AND  JAHANGIR. 


221 


222 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


brothers.  Askari  and  Hindal,  ever  weak  and  shifty, 
were  dangerous  only  as  tools  for  ambitious  men  to 
play  upon.  Their  repeated  treachery  towards  their 
too  magnanimous  brother  was  of  a piece  with  their 
general  worthlessness.  Two  cousins,  Mohammad 
Zaman  and  Mohammad  Sultan,  also  made  their 
futile  bids  for  a throne  which  not  one  of  the  family 
was  then  great  enough  to  hold.  Humayun  was  too 
gentle  to  do  the  only  prudent  thing,  to  make  an 
end  of  them,  and  to  this  beautiful  but  unwise 
clemency  he  owed  part  of  his  misfortunes.  But  his 
worst  enemy  was  himself.  Instead  of  taking  a 
statesmanlike  view  of  the  situation,  meeting  the 
most  pressing  danger  first,  and  crushing  one  an- 
tagonist before  he  engaged  another,  he  frittered  away 
his  army  in  divided  commands,  and  deprived  it  of  its 
full  strength  ; he  left  one  enemy  unsubdued  behind 
him  while  he  turned  to  meet  another;  and  when 
victory  by  chance  rewarded  his  courage,  rather  than 
his  tactics,  he  reposed  upon  his  laurels  and  made 
merry  with  his  friends  whilst  his  foes  used  the  precious 
time  in  gathering  their  forces  for  a fresh  effort. 
Had  he  brought  the  whole  of  his  strength  to  bear 
upon  each  enemy  in  turn  he  must  have  been  suc- 
cessful; for  Babar’s  troops  were  still  the  men  who 
had  won  Delhi  and  defeated  Sanga,  and  Babar’s 
generals  were  still  in  command  of  their  divisions. 
But  Humayun  weakened  their  valour  and  destroyed 
their  confidence  by  division  and  vacillation,  neglected 
the  counsels  of  the  commanders,  and  displayed  such 
indecision  that  it  is  a marvel  that  any  army  still 
adhered  to  his  falling  fortunes. 


MISTAKEN  STRATEGY 


223 


There  were  three  ominous  clouds  on  his  horizon 
when  he  came  to  the  throne.  On  the  north-west 
was  his  brother  Kamran  ; but  as  he  professed  loyalty, 
however  insincerely,  Humayun  was  fain  to  let  him 
alone.  On  the  east  were  the  Afghans  in  Bihar,  with 
a brother  of  the  late  Lodi  sultan  of  Delhi  at  their 
head.  On  the  south  was  Bahadur  Shah,  the  king 
of  Gujarat  and  Malwa,  actively  pressing  his  triumphs 
over  the  Rajputs  and  rapidly  approaching  within 
striking  distance  of  Agra.  He  too  had  a pretender 
to  put  forward  in  the  person  of  the  cousin  already 
named,  Mohammad  Zaman.  Of  the  two  chief  perils 
the  king  of  Gujarat  was  the  more  imposing,  but  the 
Afghan  confederacy  the  more  dangerous  adversary. 
Humayun  was  perpetually  hesitating  between  the 
two.  First  he  marched  to  Bihar  and  easily  disposed  of 
Mahmud  the  Lodi  in  a decisive  victory  near  Lucknow 
in  1531.  Instead  of  following  up  his  success  by  crush- 
ing the  routed  Afghans  with  his  utmost  strength,  he 
abandoned  the  siege  of  Chunar,  Slier  Khan’s  strong- 
hold in  Bihar,  accepted  a purely  perfunctory  submis- 
sion, and  left  thus  the  most  capable,  unscrupulous, 
and  ambitious  man  in  the  whole  Afghan  party  free  to 
mature  his  plans  and  strengthen  his  power  whilst 
the  emperorwas  away  at  the  other  end  of  Hindustan. 

It  was  the  fear  of  the  king  of  Gujarat  that  in- 
duced this  fatal  retreat.  Bahadur  Shah  undoubtedly 
was  aiming  at  the  conquest  of  Delhi,  but  he  was 
not  ready  for  it  yet,  and  such  raids  or  expeditions 
as  he  had  encouraged  the  pretenders  to  the  throne 
to  lead  against  Agra  and  Kalinjar  had  been  easily 
repulsed  by  the  imperial  troops.  When  Humayun, 


224 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


abandoning  the  fruits  of  his  victory  at  Lucknow, 
arrived  in  Malwa  at  the  close  of  1534,  he  found 
Bahadur  busily  engaged  in  the  siege  of  the  great 
Rajput  fortress  of  Chitor.  Instead  of  attacking  at 
once,  and  by  his  timely  interference  probably  win- 
ning to  his  side  the  inestimable  friendship  of  the 
Rajput  chiefs,  he  must  needs  stand  by  till  the  quar- 
rel was  fought  out.'  It  was  admirable  chivalry  to 
call  a truce  while  his  Muslim  enemy  was  waging 
what  might  be  termed  a Holy  War  against  Hindu 
‘infidels,’  and  one  cannot  help  respecting  Huma- 
yun’s  quixotic  observance  of  a Mohammedan  scruple 
of  honour ; mais  ce  71  etait  pas  la  guerre.  Profiting 
by  the  emperor’s  fine  feelings,  Bahadur  stormed 
Chitor;  the  Rajput  women  eagerly  rushed  upon  the 
swords  of  their  husbands  and  fathers  to  escape  the 
shame  of  Muslim  harims  ; the  men  sallied  forth  to  be 
slaughtered  ; and  the  conquerer  turned  to  meet  his 
complaisant  foe,  who  amiably  awaited  the  issue. 

Flushed  with  recent  victory  the  Gujaratis  might 
probably  have  overwhelmed  Humayun’s  army,  on 
which  the  irritation  as  well  as  the  revels  of  the  delay 
had  exerted  their  usual  influences  ; but  the  triumph 
of  the  heavy  artillery  in  the  siege  of  Chitor  had 
given  undue  weight  to  the  advice  of  the  Ottoman 
engineer,  the  ‘Rumi  Khan,’  who  had  worked  the 
guns  with  the  help  of  Portuguese  and  other  Euro- 
pean gunners;  and,  as  with  Sir  John  Burgoyne 
before  Sevastopol,  the  voice  of  the  engineer  pre- 
vailed over  the  bolder  counsels  of  the  cavalry  leaders. 
At  the  Rumi  Khan’s  motion,  instead  of  falling  in- 

’ Tabakat-i-Akbari,  E.  and  D.,  v,  igl. 


CONQUEST  OF  M A JAVA 


225 


stantly  upon  the  imperial  troops,  the  army  of  Guja- 
rat penned  itself  up  in  a fortified  camp.  The  enemy, 
as  the  engineer  foretold,  confronted  by  the  big  guns, 
could  not  get  in  ; but  on  the  other  hand  the  defend- 
ers could  not  get  out.  The  open  country  around 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  Moghul  archers,  whose 
arrows  gave  short  shrift  to  any  men  of  Gujarat  who 
ventured  outside  the  ditch.  Famine  rendered  the 
camp  untenable,  and  at  last  in  the  dead  of  night 
Bahadur  slunk  away  with  only  five  followers.  His 
army,  discovering  the  desertion,  immediately  dis- 
persed, and  Humayun,  on  seeking  the  cause  of  the 
unusual  hubbub,  found  himself  in  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  vast  camp  and  all  the  spoils  of  the 
enemy.  On  this  occasion  he  showed  unwonted 
energy  ; pursued  the  king  of  Gujarat  to  Mandu,  and 
on  to  Champanir,  and  Ahmadabad,  and  thence  to 
Cambay,  one  flying  out  as  the  other  entered  in  ; 
till  Bahadur  at  last  found  refuge  in  the  island  of 
Diu.  Malwa  and  Gujarat — two  provinces  equal  in 
area  to  all  the  rest  of  Humayun’s  kingdom — had 
fallen  like  ripe  fruit  into  his  hands.  Never  was 
conquest  so  easy. 

Never'  too,  was  conquest  more  recklessly  squan- 
dered away.  The  vast  spoils  of  the  Gujarat  camp, 
of  Champanir,  and  of  Cambay,  utterly  demoralized 
the  Moghuls.  The  emperor  had  shown  energy  and 
decision  in  the  pursuit ; he  had  proved  his  mettle 
when  he  himself  took  part  in  scaling  the  fort  of 
Champanir  by  means  of  iron  spikes,  the  forty-first 
man  to  reach  the  battlements.  Then  came  the 

reaction.  Instead  of  insuring  the  efficient  control 
15 


226 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


and  administration  of  his  new  acquisitions,  Huma- 
yun  devoted  himself  to  festivities  in  Mahva,  while 
his  brother  Askari,  as  viceroy  of  Gujarat,  revelled  at 
Ahmadabad,  and  even  boasted  in  his  cups  that  he 
was  king,  and  prepared  to  oust  his  brother,  just  as  if 
there  were  no  enemies  in  the  land.  The  result  of 
this  foolish  confidence  was  soon  seen.  The  local 
governors  and  chiefs  were  still  loyal  to  Bahadur,  and 
he  had  purchased  the  support  of  the  Portuguese  by 
allowing  them  to  build  a fort  at  Diu.  Finding  his 
invaders  fast  asleep,  the  king  advanced,  and  was 
everywhere  welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  Askari  re- 
tired, and  Gujarat  reverted  to  its  old  ruler.  Nor 
was  this  all.  Humayun’s  fatal  weakness  in  Bihar 
was  working  its  inevitable  punishment.  Sher  Khan 
had  become  supreme  on  the  borders  of  Bengal,  and 
Mohammad  Sultan  was  already  proclaimed  king  at 
Kanauj.  What  ought  to  have  been  done  before 
had  to  be  done  now,  and  Humayun  marched  north 
to  recover  what  his  own  folly  had  lost.  No  sooner 
was  he  gone  than  Malwa  threw  off  the  Moghul 
authority  and  was  joined  again  to  Gujarat.  One 
year  had  seen  the  rapid  conquest  of  the  two  great 
provinces ; the  next  saw  them  as  quickly  lost. 

The  only  justification  for  the  abandonment  of  so 
rich  a prize  would  be  the  paramount  necessity  of 
suppressing  the  growing  revolt  in  the  eastern  pro- 
vinces. Yet  the  feckless  emperor  wasted  a whole 
year  at  Agra  in  merrymaking  and  opiated  idleness 
before  he  moved  to  the  scene  of  rebellion.  He  even 
thought  of  first  returning  to  recover  Malwa  and 
Gujarat  before  grappling  with  the  very  danger  that 


SHER  KAN 


227 


had  caused  their  abandonment.  Nothing  could 
more  clearly  show  the  incurable  vacillation  and 
military  incompetence  of  this  amiable  prince.  When 
at  last  he  set  out  in  July,  1537,  with  every  man  he 
could  muster,  he  carried  all  before  him.  The  Rumi 
Khan,  who,  being  an  adventurer,  had  deserted  to 
the  winning  side  on  the  flight  of  the  king  of  Gujarat, 
now  plied  his  guns  for  Humayun,  and  his  science 
compelled  the  surrender  of  Slier  Khan’s  fortress  of 
Chunar,  in  the  absence  of  its  lord,  who  was  then 
busily  engaged  in  reducing  the  whole  of  Bengal  to 
his  sway. 

This  indomitable  Afghan,  whose  bold  career  de- 
serves a volume  to  itself,  had  long  fixed  his  eyes  on 
the  decaying  power  of  the  Bengal  kings  and  dreamed 
of  a restoration  of  the  Afghan  ascendancy.  De- 
scended from  the  royal  house  of  Sur,  kings  of  Ghor, 
he  had  risen  from  the  rank  of  a mere  administrator 
of  a small  district  near  Rohtas  to  be  prime  minister 
of  one  of  the  Lohani  Afghans  who  styled  themselves 
kings  of  Bihar  in  the  time  of  Babar.  On  that 
emperor’s  advance.  Slier  Khan  — ‘Tiger- lord,’  so 
called  because  he  killed  a tiger  that  lept  suddenly 
upon  the  king  of  Bihar  — at  first  nominally  sided 
with  the  conqueror,  but  this  did  not  prevent  his  join- 
ing in  Malimud  Lodi’s  attempt  to  recover  the  throne, 
nor  his  treacherously  deserting  the  pretender  at  the 
battle  with  Humayun  near  Lucknow  which  dispelled 
the  Lodi’s  hopes.  Though  then  again  nominally 
reconciled  with  the  Moghuls,  and  making  his  submis- 
sion to  Humayun  when  Chunar  was  besieged  in 
1532,  the  Afghan  chief  never  abandoned  his  dream 


228 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


of  sovereignty.  During  Humayun’s  long  absence  in 
the  west,  he  skilfully  enlarged  his  territories  and 
strengthened  his  army,  and  while  the  emperor  was 
busy  for  si.x;  months  in  a second  siege  of  Chunar  its 
master  was  conquering  Gaur,  the  capital  of  Bengal. 

With  unusual  energy  Humayun  immediately 
pressed  on  to  eject  him  before  conquest  had  been 
consolidated  into  permanent  rule  in  the  wealthiest 
agricultural  province  of  Hindustan.  Sher  Khan 
would  listen  to  no  overtures,  though  the  emperor 
offered  him  pardon  and  the  government  of  Jaunpur 
if  he  would  submit.  Leaving  his  son  Jalal  Khan  to 
hold  the  pass  which  leads  from  Bihar  into  Bengal  at 
the  foot  of  the  Rajmahall  hills,  the  Afghan  hurriedly 
conveyed  his  booty,  treasure,  artillery,  and  family 
into  the  impregnable  fort  of  Rohtas,  which  he 
captured  from  its  Hindu  chief  by  the  familiar  strata- 
gem of  introducing  armed  men  in  women’s  litters. 
As  soon  as  this  manoeuvre  was  accomplished  and  all 
was  safe  in  Rohtas,  Jalal,  who  had  held  the  pass  as 
long  as  was  needed  and  had  inflicted  considerable 
loss  on  the  imperial  advance  guard,  joined  his  father, 
and  Humayun  was  allowed  to  march  into  Bengal 
(1538).  He  entered  a devastated  and  ruined  country, 
and  found  a capital  strewn  with  corpses.  Neverthe- 
less here  he  enjoyed  himself  and  feasted  six  precious 
months  away,  admiring  the  sights  of  the  fertile  pro- 
vince, and  indulging  with  all  his  court  and  all  his 
army  in  ‘jollity  and  sensual  pursuits.’ 

During  this  interval  of  periodical  eclipse  the  em- 
peror seems  never  to  have  realized  that  he  was  cut 
off.  Sher  Khan,  a master  of  strategy,  had  let 


HUM  A YUN  IN  BENGAL 


2.^9 

Humayun  into  Bengal  only  to  seize  the  approaches 
and  sever  his  communications.  He  had  the  less  diffi- 
culty inasmuch  as  the  emperor,  with  his  usual  im- 
providence, had  taken  no  steps  to  keep  them 
open  ; whilst  in  the  west  his  brothers  were  quite 
satisfied  to  leave  him  to  his  fate.  Hindal,  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  Bengal  campaign,  and  had  been 
allowed  to  go  to  Tirhut  to  bring  up  stores,  seized  the 
opportunity  to  return  to  Agra,  where  he  was  soon 
persuaded  by  interested  counsellors  to  proclaim  him- 
self emperor;  and  the  pious  shaikh,  whom  Humayun 
sent  to  bring  him  gently  to  reason,  was  murdered  by 
the  inflated  usurper.  Loyal  officers,  anxious  to  pre- 
serve Delhi  for  the  lawful  sovereign,  called  in  the 
help  of  Kamran,  who  quickly  reduced  the  preten- 
sions of  his  younger  brother.  But  Kamran  was  as 
unwilling  as  Hindal  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  the 
emperor,  whose  critical  position  was  perfectly  known 
to  all.  They  went  a few  marches  together,  and 
then  turned  back.  Their  plan  was  to  let  Humayun 
be  worsted  by  Sher  Khan  and  then  to  engage  the 
Afghan  in  their  own  behoof.  They  did  not  know  the 
man  they  had  to  deal  with.  Sher  Khan  had  seized 
every  road  leading  from  Bengal,  he  was  laying  siege 
to  Chunar  and  Jaunpur,  held  all  the  country  as  far 
west  as  Kanauj,  and  had  proclaimed  himself  king  at 
Rohtas  with  the  title  of  Sultan  Sher  Shah. 

These  disastrous  tidings,  filtering  through  the 
bazar  gossip,  gradually  roused  Humayun  from  his 
torpor.  With  mutiny  open  or  concealed  at  Agra, 
with  a rival  king  standing  across  his  communications 
and  besieging  his  cities,  with  no  hope  of  succour  from 


230 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


any  side,  it  was  certainly  time  to  act.  Six  months 
had  he  trifled  in  Bengal,  and  now  the  question  was 
how  to  get  out.  His  troops  were  demoralized  by 
dissipation,  disheartened  by  inaction,  and  reduced 
by  sickness.  They  had  to  be  bribed  to  advance. 
When  they  did  at  last  march,  they  met  with  no  op- 
position. Sher  Shah  was  known  to  be  on  the  watch, 
but  he  did  not  attempt  to  stop  them.  His  design 
was  apparently  to  avoid  a pitched  battle  and  rather 
to  harass  and  if  possible  surprise  the  imperial  army 
than  to  attempt  its  destruction  in  the  field.  Huma- 
yun  accordingly  was  suffered  to  march  along  the  left 
bank  of  the  Ganges  as  far  as  Manghir,  where  he  de- 


SILVER  COIN  OF  SHER  SHAH  STRUCK  AT  DELHI,  A.H.  g47(A.D.  1540-1). 

liberately  crossed  over  to  the  right  or  south  bank — 
the  side  on  which  Sher  Shah  lay — in  order  appar- 
ently to  show  that  he  was  not  afraid  of  him. 

Thus  he  proceeded  past  Patna  till  he  reached  a 
spot  close  to  where  the  battle  of  Buxar  two  hundred 
and  thirty  years  later  once  more  decided  the  fate  of 
the  same  Moghul  empire.  Here,  at  Chaunsa,  the 
army  was  suddenly  checked  by  Sher  Shah,  who, 
tempted  by  the  dispirited  state  of  the  imperialists, 
abandoned  his  watching  attitude  and  rode  in  hot 


VICTORY  OF  SIIER  SHAH 


231 


haste  to  stop  their  advance.  The  two  forces  camped 
opposite  one  another,  and  as  neither  seemed  strong 
enough  to  warrant  an  attack,  there  they  remained 
confronted  for  two  months.  The  imperial  troops 
were  suffering  grievously.  The  cattle  and  many  of 
the  horses  were  dead,  troopers  were  dismounted,  the 
country  in  front  was  in  the  enemy’s  hands,  supplies 
were  scarce,  and  of  any  help  from  Agra  there  was  no 
hope.  The  situation  was  desperate  and  Humayun 
opened  negotiations.  A treaty  was  arranged  by 
which  Slier  Shah  was  to  retain  Bengal  and  part  of 
Bihar,  on  condition  of  due  and  public  recognition  of 
the  emperor  as  his  suzerain.  Everything  seemed 
settled  or  on  the  point  of  settlement,  and  the  two 
armies  began  to  fraternize  whilst  preparing  to  break 
up  their  camp.  Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  the  con- 
fusion of  the  removal,  at  break  of  dawn,  the  Afghans 
fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  Moghuls  from  all  sides. 
The  surprise  was  complete.  Many  were  slain  asleep. 
Few  had  time  to  mount.  Humayun  himself  was 
only  saved  by  a water-carrier  who  supported  him  on 
his  water-skin  across  the  Ganges,  into  which  he  had 
recklessly  plunged.  Most  of  his  army  was  drowned 
or  captured,  and  the  unlucky  emperor  arrived  at 
Agra  almost  alone  (May,  1539). 

For  nearly  a year  both  sides  gathered  their  forces 
for  the  final  struggle:  Sher  Shah  consolidating  his 
power  in  Bengal ; Humayun  vacillating  and  wasting 
time,  yet  striving  to  unite  his  brothers  in  the  com- 
mon cause.  On  May  17,  1540,  the  armies  met  again 
opposite  Kanauj,  and  the  ‘ battle  of  the  Ganges’  for 
a time  put  an  end  to  the  Moghul  empire.  Humayuns’ 


232 


MEDIAiVAL  INDIA 


army,  though  at  first  loo,ooo  strong,  was  half-hearted, 
badly  officered,  weakened  by  constant  desertions,  and 
hampered  with  crowds  of  panic-stricken  camp-fol- 
lowers ; and  the  fight  was  over  almost  as  soon  as 
begun.  ‘ Before  the  enemy  had  discharged  an  arrow,’ 
says  the  historian  Mirza  Haidar,  who  was  present, 
‘ the  whole  army  was  scattered  and  defeated  ’ by 
mere  panic  and  crowding  ; ‘ not  a gun  was  fired.’  All 
fled  to  the  Ganges,  where  the  bridge  broke  down  and 
many  were  drowned  in  their  heavy  armour.  Hu- 
mayun  again  escaped  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth.  India 
had  cast  him  off. 

From  that  day  for  fifteen  years  he  led  a life  of 
wandering.  He  was  in  the  deserts  of  Rajputana 
and  Sind  for  three  years,  in  great  straits  and  hard- 
ships, trying  to  beat  up  recruits ; here  he  fell  in  love 
with  the  daughter  of  his  brother  Hindal’s  shaikh,  a 
sayyid  of  the  Prophet’s  race ; and  here  at  Amarkot 
his  son  Akbar  was  born,  October  15,  1542.  Then 
he  fled  to  Persia,  where  he  became  the  not  very  wel- 
come guest  of  Shah  Tahmasp.  Aided  by  the  shah 
he  conquered  Kandahar  from  his  own  brother  Askari 
in  1545,  and  took  Kabul  from  Kamran  in  1547.  He 
was  now  in  much  the  same  position  that  Babar  had 
occupied  before  his  invasion  of  India  twenty-five 
years  earlier. 

The  next  nine  years  were  spent  in  varying  fortunes, 
sometimes  in  conquest,  sometimes  in  loss,  and  it  was 
not  till  his  brothers  were  dead  or  exiled  that  Hu- 
mayun  had  peace  in  his  little  Afghan  realm.  Hindal 
fell  in  battle;  Askari  died  on  pilgrimage  to  Mekka; 
and  the  irreconcilable  Kamran,  after  repeated  for- 


REFORMS  OF  SHER  SIIAII 


233 


givings,  had  to  be  blinded  and  sent  to  Mekka  where 
he  too  died.  Humayun  owed  much  of  his  misfor- 
tunes to  this  unnatural  brother,  and  cannot  be 
charged  with  anything  but  long-suffering  patience  of 
his  misdeeds. 

Meanwhile  Sher  Shah  had  reduced  the  greater 
part  of  Hindustan  to  submission,  and  among  the 
Muslims  at  least  there  was  every  disposition  to  hail 
the  accession  of  an  Afghan  king,  born  in  India,  and 
gifted  with  unusual  administrative  as  well  as  military 
talents.  His  ability  and  wisdom  are  unquestioned, 
and  in  his  fiscal  and  other  reforms  we  see  the  true 
origin  of  many  of  Akbar’s  most  famous  measures. 
‘ The  whole  of  his  brief  administration,’  says  Mr. 
Keene,'  ‘ was  based  on  the  principle  of  union.  A 
devout  Muslim,  he  never  oppressed  his  Hindu  sub- 
jects. The  disputes  of  his  own  people  he  suppressed 
with  all  the  energy  of  his  nature.  He  laboured  day 
and  night,  for  he  said  “ It  behooves  the  great  to  be 
always  active.”  He  divided  his  territory  into  hund- 
reds, in  each  of  which  were  local  officers  whose  place 
it  was  to  mediate  between  the  people  and  the  officers 
of  the  crown.  Not  content  with  the  administrative  side 
of  social  reform,  he  went  beyond  most  Muslim  rulers 
and  attempted  a certain  crude  legislation.  The 
nature  of  the  attempts  attributed  to  him  shows  that 
a critical  moment  was  passing  in  mediaeval  India. 
His  ordinances  touched  on  almost  all  the  primary 
parts  of  administration,  and  evinced  real  care  for  the 
people’s  welfare.  . . . All  this  has  an  importance 
beyond  the  immediate  time.  After  the  Moghul 

' History  of  Hindustan,  7g-Sl. 


234 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


restoration  Sher  Shah’s  officials  passed  into  Akbar’s 
service ; the  faults  imputed  by  the  shah  to  what  he 
called  Moghul  administration — but  which  are  com- 
mon to  all  Turks — were  prevented;  and  this  far- 
sighted man,  even  after  his  death  and  the  subversion 
of  his  dynasty,  remained  the  originator  of  all  that 
was  done  by  mediaeval  Indian  rulers  for  the  good  of 
the  people.’ 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  all  this  was  accom- 
plished by  mildness.  ‘ Sher  Shah’s  authority,’  says 
his  historian,  Abbas  Khan,  ‘whether  he  was  absent 
or  present,  was  completely  established  over  the  race 
of  Afghans.  From  the  fear  either  of  personal  pun- 
ishment or  of  deprivation  of  office  there  was  not  a 
creature  who  dared  to  act  in  opposition  to  his  regu- 
lations ; and  if  a son  of  his  own,  or  a brother,  or  any 
of  his  relations  and  kin,  or  any  chief  or  minister,  did 
a thing  displeasing  to  Sher  Shah,  and  it  got  to  his 
knowledge,  he  would  order  him  to  be  bound  and  put 
to  death.  All,  laying  aside  every  bond  of  friendship 
or  regard,  for  the  sake  of  the  honour  of  the  Afghan 
name,  obeyed  unhesitatingly  his  irresistible  decrees. 
. . . From  the  day  that  Sher  Shah  was  established 
on  the  throne  no  man  dared  to  breathe  in  opposition 
to  him  ; nor  did  anyone  raise  the  standard  of  con- 
tumacy or  rebellion  against  him  ; nor  was  any  heart- 
tormenting  thorn  grown  in  the  garden  of  his 
kingdom  ; nor  was  there  any  of  his  nobles  or 
soldiery,  or  a thief  or  a robber,  who  dared  to  turn 
the  eye  of  dishonesty  upon  another’s  goods,  nor  did 
any  robbery  or  stealing  ever  occur  in  his  dominions. 
Travellers  and  wayfarers  in  Sher  Shah’s  reign  had 


TOMB  OF  HUMAYUX  AT  DELHI. 


236 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


no  need  to  keep  watch,  nor  feared  to  halt  in  the 
midst  of  a desert.  They  camped  at  night  at  every 
place,  desert  or  inhabited,  without  fear;  they  set 
their  goods  and  provisions  upon  the  plain  and 
turned  out  their  mules  to  graze,  and  themselves  slept 
with  easy  mind  and  free  from  care  as  if  at  home,  and 
the  mansabdars  (for  fear  that  they  should  suffer  and 
be  arrested  for  any  mischief  that  might  befall  the 
travellers)  kept  watch  over  them.  “ Such  a protec- 
tion o’ershadowed  the  world  that  a cripple  was  not 
afraid  of  a Rustam.”  ’ * 

His  brief  but  beneficent  rule  came  to  an  end  in 
1545  when  he  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Kalinjar 
during  a vigorous  attempt  to  subdue  the  indomit- 
able Rajputs.  He  left  no  fit  successor  to  carry  ondiis 
wise  schemes,  on  which  he  was  still  meditating  as  he 
lay  wounded  in  his  tent.  Under  his  son  Islam  Shah 
the  ancient  rivalries  of  the  Afghans  revived,  and 
when  Islam  Shah  died  nine  years  later  everything 
was  in  confusion.  His  son,  a boy  of  twelve,  was 
murdered  by  his  uncle  Adil  Shah  (or  Adah),  a de- 
bauched brute,  who  left  all  real  power  in  the  hands 
of  his  Hindu  vezir  Himu.  Naturally  rebellions 
arose.  Ibrahim  Sur  seized  Delhi  and  Agra,  and 
Sikandar  Sur,  another  nephew  of  Sher  Shah,  took 
possession  of  the  Panjab,  and  then  drove  Ibrahim 
out  of  his  new  sovereignty. 

In  the  midst  of  this  turmoil  Humayun,  for  once, 
grasped  his  opportunity.  Descending  from  Kabul 
with  only  15,000  horse  in  1555,  and  seizing  the 
Panjab,  he  routed  Sikandar  at  Sirhind,  drove  him 
' Tarikh-i-Sher-Shaki,  E.  and  D.,  iv,  427,  433. 


RETURN  OF  HUM  AY  UN 


^17 


to  the  Himalayas,  and  took  possession  of  Delhi  and 
Agra.  Prince  Akbar  was  sent  in  pursuit  of  the 
fugitive  Afghans,  whilst  Humayun  set  about  organ- 
izing his  recovered  kingdom.  It  seemed  as  if  his 
luck  had  turned  at  last.  But  nothing  ever  went  well 
for  long  with  this  unfortunate  monarch.  Scarcely 
had  he  enjoyed  his  throne  at  Delhi  for  six  months 
when  he  slipped  down  the  polished  steps  of  his 
palace,  and  died  in  his  forty-ninth  year  (Jan.  24, 
1556).  His  end  was  of  a piece  with  his  character. 
If  there  was  a possibility  of  falling,  Humayun  was 
not  the  man  to  miss  it.  He  tumbled  through  life, and 
he  tumbled  out  of  it.  At  his  tomb,  three  centuries 
later,  the  last  of  the  Moghul  emperors,  the  feeble 
and  aged  Shah  Alam,  surrendered  to  Hodson  of 
Hodson’s  Horse,  and  the  old  man’s  savage  and 
worthless  sons  paid  the  penalty  of  their  treachery. 
It  was  perhaps  fitting  that  the  grave  of  the  humane 
and  chivalrous  son  of  Babar  should  be  the  silent  wit- 
ness of  a righteous  vengeance. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  UNITED  EMPIRE 
AKBAR 

1556-1605 

The  long  reign  of  Akbar,  which  lasted  from  1556 
to  1605,  has  been  represented  as  the  golden 
age  of  the  Moghul  empire.  It  was  in  reality  but 
the  beginning  of  the  period  of  splendour  which 
ended  with  the  disastrous  wars  of  Aurangzib. 
Akbar  was  the  true  founder  and  organizer  of  the 
empire,  but  it  is  too  often  forgotten  that  it  took 
him  twenty  years  of  hard  fighting  to  bring  Hin- 
dustan under  subjection,  and  that  even  at  his  death 
the  process  was  incomplete.  There  was  no  sudden 
and  miraculous  submission  to  the  boy  of  thirteen 
who  found  himself  called  to  an  as  yet  unconquered 
throne  by  the  accident  that  ended  his  father’s  in- 
effectual life  in  the  beginning  of  1556.  A hard  strug- 
gle was  before  him  ere  he  could  call  himself  king 
even  of  Delhi.  He  was  fortunate,  no  doubt,  in  the 
divisions  of  his  adversaries,  and  after  the  crushing 
defeat  of  Himu  at  Panipat  he  was  never  called  upon 

238 


TWENTY  YEARS’  FIGHTING 


239 


to  meet  a general  muster  of  Indian  troops;  but  the 
process  of  reducing  usurper  after  usurper,  and  sup- 
pressing one  rebellion  after  another,  was  tedious  and 
harassing,  and  in  spite  of  a wise  statesmanship 
matured  by  experience,  and  a clemency  and  tolera- 
tion which  grew  with  advancing  years,  to  the  day  of 
his  death  Akbar  seldom  knew  what  it  was  to  enjoy 
a year’s  freedom  from  war. 

At  the  time  of  his  accession  the  only  parts  of 
India  that  he  possessed  were  the  Panjab  and  Delhi 
in  the  north,  which  were  the  fruits  of  the  victory  at 
Sirhind  in  1555.  The  Afghan  dynasty  still  held 
Bengal  and  the  Ganges  valley;  the  Rajputs  were 
independent  in  western  Hindustan,  and  there  were 
innumerable  chiefs  in  possession  of  separate  prin- 
cipalities all  over  the  country.  It  was  not  till  the 
third  year  of  his  reign  that  Akbar  was  able  to  oc- 
cupy Ajmir.  Gwaliar  fell  in  1558,  and  by  1561  he 
had  driven  the  Afghans  back  from  Lucknow  and 
Jaunpur.  The  Moghul  empire  so  far  was  almost  re- 
stricted to  the  Panjab  and  the  North-West  Prov- 
inces, though  Malwa  was  partly  overrun  in  1561,  and 
Burhanpur  in  Khandesh  captured  a year  later.  The 
storming  of  Chitor  in  1 567  was  a conspicuous  land- 
mark in  the  history,  but  it  was  not  till  1572  that  the 
Rajputs  were  finally  brought  into  the  empire.  Ben- 
gal was  not  conquered  before  1575,  and  Gujarat, 
though  occupied  in  1572,  had  to  be  retaken  in  1584 
and  gave  trouble  for  several  years  more.  Kabul, 
under  his  brother  Hakim,  was  almost  a separate 
kingdom  and  frequently  aggressive.  Among  the 
outlying  provinces,  Orisa  became  part  of  the  empire 


240 


MEDIJEVAL  INDIA 


as  late  as  1590,  Kashmir  in  1587,  Sind  in  1592, 
Kandahar  in  1594,  and  only  a small  portion  of  the 
Deccan  was  annexed  in  Akbar’s  life. 

The  reign  was  thus  a perpetual  series  of  efforts 
towards  the  expansion  of  an  originally  small  terri- 
tory. So  doubtful  indeed  seemed  Akbar’s  prospects 
of  Indian  sovereignty  at  the  moment  when  his 
father’s  unexpected  death  placed  him  in  command, 
that  in  the  first  council  of  war  the  generals  strongly 
urged  an  immediate  retreat  upon  Kabul,  and  their 
advice  was  only  overruled  by  the  firm  decision  of 
the  regent  Bairam,  an  old  Turkman  officer  who  had 
followed  Babar  and  Humayun,  and  realized  better 
than  the  others  the  divided  and  leaderless  state  of 
the  enemy.  Matters  were  certainly  in  an  alarming 
position.  Sikandar  of  Delhi  had  been  driven  to  the 
mountains,  where  he  held  Mankot  against  all  attacks; 
but  a far  more  formidable  army  was  marching  to 
take  vengeance.  Himu,  the  general  of  the  Bengal 
kingdom,  a Hindu  who  from  a mere  shopkeeper  had 
rapidly  advanced  to  practically  supreme  power,  en- 
tered Agra  unopposed,  defeated  Tardi  Beg  at  Delhi, 
occupied  the  capital,  assumed  the  historic  title  of 
Raja  Vikramajit,  and  then  advanced  to  crush  the 
Moghul  forces. 

When  the  dispirited  remnant  of  the  garrison  of 
Delhi  reached  Akbar’s  headquarters  at  Sirhind,  news 
had  just  arrived  of  another  blow,  the  revolt  of 
Kabul.  Fortunately  the  young  emperor  had  a great 
soldier  at  his  side  to  meet  the  crisis.  Bairam,  the 
atalik  or  regent,  was  a consummate  general,  and  a 
man  of  iron  resolution.  He  instantly  made  an 


BATTLE  OF  PA  NIP  AT 


241 


example  of  Tardi  Beg,  for  the  loss  of  Delhi, 
and  placed  the  other  disgraced  officers  under 
arrest.  Then  he  sent  on  the  advance-guard, 
which  was  lucky  enough  to  intercept  the  entire 
park  of  Ottoman  artillery  which  Himu  had  in- 
cautiously sent  adrift ; and  on  Friday  the  5th  of 
November,  1556,  the  two  armies  confronted  each 
other  on  the  field  of  Panipat,  where  thirty  years 
before  Babar  had  overthrown  the  Afghan  power, 
and  where  two  centuries  later  another  battle  swept 
away  the  Maratha  hordes  and  prepared  the  way  for 
England. 

In  spite  of  the  loss  of  his  guns,  Himu  commanded 
a force  sufficient  to  dismay  the  Moghul  leaders.  He 
had  three  divisions,  of  which  the  centre  was  com- 
posed of  20,000  horse  (Afghans  and  Rajputs)  sup- 
ported by  500  elephants,  and  the  whole  force  of 
elephantry  numbered  at  least  1500.  Himu  led  the 
advance,  ‘ scowling  on  his  elephant  Hawa,  “ the 
Wind.”  ’ His  charge  upon  the  Moghul  left  was  suc- 
cessful ; he  then  turned  to  crush  their  centre.  But 
here  the  archers  stood  firm,  the  enemy  were  harassed 
by  showers  of  arrows,  and  one  fortunate  shaft  pierced 
the  eye  of  the  Hindu  leader.  There  was  no  one  in 
authority  to  take  up  the  command,  and  the  master- 
less crowd  broke  up  like  a herd  of  stampeded  horses. 
Himu  on  his  elephant  was  driven  straight  into 
the  presence  of  Akbar,  and  Bairam  bade  the  boy 
flesh  his  sword  on  the  dying  ‘ infidel.’  The  honour- 
able chivalry  which  distinguished  Akbar  above  all 
his  line  at  once  burst  forth : ‘ How  can  I strike 
a man  who  is  as  good  as  dead?’  he  cried.  Bairam 

16 


242 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


had  no  such  fine  scruples,  and  immediately  dis- 
patched the  wounded  man. 

The  crisis  had  been  bravely  met,  and  Akbar  had 
never  again  to  confront  so  dangerous  an  enemy. 
Henceforward,  though  constantly  fighting,  he  had 
the  advantage  — incalculable  in  oriental  warfare  — 
of  being  in  the  position  of  the  attacker,  not  the 
attacked.  Delhi  again  opened  its  gates  and  received 
him  with  effusive  loyalty.  Agra  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  the  capital,  and  after  an  eight  months’ 
siege  Sikandar  surrendered  Mankot  and  retired  to 
Bengal.  The  young  prince  was  now  king  at  least 
in  the  north-west  corner  of  India.  The  process  of 
settling  this  comparatively  small  territory  and  deal- 
ing with  the  revenues  and  the  status  of  the  military 
vassals  occupied  the  next  few  years,  and,  except  for 
the  reduction  of  the  great  fortress  of  Gwaliar  and 
the  conquest  of  the  Ganges  valley  as  far  as  Jaunpur 
and  Benares,  the  limits  of  the  kingdom  were  not 
greatly  extended. 

In  1560  Akbar  took  the  reins  into  his  own  hands. 
He  had  chafed  under  the  masterful  management  of 
Bairam,  whose  severity  and  jealousy  had  been  shown 
in  several  high-handed  executions  and  had  roused 
general  discontent.  Palace  intrigue  set  Akbar’s 
mind  against  his  old  tutor,  who  was  doubtless  slow 
to  realize  that  his  pupil  was  no  longer  a child  to  be 
held  on  a leading  string.  In  an  eastern  harim  there 
are  powerful  influences  against  which  few  ministers 
can  prevail,  and  Akbar’s  foster-mother,  Maham 
Anaga,  ruled  the  palace  in  those  early  years.  She 
used  her  power  to  undermine  the  emperor’s  esteem 


GOLD  COINS  OF  AKBAR. 


I.  Agra,  A.  H.  971. 

3.  Mohammadabad  (Udaipur).  984. 
5.  Agra,  1013. 


2.  Agra,  981. 
4.  Asir,  1008. 
6.  1013. 


244 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


for  Bairam.  Taking  advantage  of  a visit  to  Delhi, 
where  he  was  free  from  the  regent’s  domination,  she 
worked  upon  his  natural  impatience  of  the  khan- 
khanan’s  arrogance,  and  induced  him  to  break  his 
cords.  Akbar  publicly  announced  that  he  had  taken 
the  government  into  his  own  hands,  and  sent  orders 
to  the  deposed  minister  to  go  on  pilgrimage  to 
Mekka  — a courteous  form  of  temporary  banishment. 
The  young  emperor  might  perhaps  have  dealt  more 
gently  with  the  honoured  servant  of  his  father  and 
grandfather, — one,  too,  who  had  so  strenuously 
served  him  in  his  hour  of  peril, — but  the  change  had 
to  be  made,  and  it  could  not  be  easy  in  any  way. 
Bairam  left  for  Gujarat,  to  take  boat  for  Arabia,  but 
on  his  way  he  fell  among  evil  counsellors  who 
tempted  him  to  revolt.  He  was  defeated,  and  made 
humble  submission,  when  Akbar  instantly  pardoned 
him  wdth  all  his  old  kindness.  But  there  could 
be  no  place  for  Bairam  now  in  the  government,  and 
he  sadly  set  forth  on  his  pilgrimage,  once  the  chief 
desire  of  the  staunch  Muslim  but  now  a mark  of  his 
downfall.  Before  he  could  embark  he  was  assassin- 
ated bv  an  Afghan  in  quittance  of  a blood-feud. 

The  nurse’s  triumph  was  not  for  long.  For  a 
time  she  acted  almost  as  a prime  minister,  and 
her  quick  intelligence  as  well  as  her  devotion  to  her' 
foster-son  made  her  invaluable  to  him.  Unhappily 
her  hopes  were  wrapped  up  in  her  son,  Adham 
Khan.  She  pushed  him  forward  to  high  command, 
which  he  filled  with  more  arrogance  and  conceit  than 
loyalty ; he  fell  into  disgrace,  and  when  finally  out 
of  envy  and  chagrin,  in  i 563,  he  murdered  Akbar’s 


AKBAR  ASSERTS  HIMSELF 


245 


foster-father  the  prime  minister  Shams-ad-din,  and 
then  stood  at  the  door  of  the  harim  as  if  in  sanctu- 
ary, his  cup  was  full.  The  emperor  rushed  out, 
sword  in  hand,  felled  the  assassin  with  a blow  of  his 
fist,  and  foster-brother  though  he  was  Adham  was 
instantly  thrown  over  the  battlements  of  the  palace. 
It  broke  his  mother’s  heart,  and  she  survived  him 
but  forty  days. 

It  was  time  that  Akbar  freed  himself  from  this 
harim  influence.  Adham  had  already  tarnished  the 
emperor’s  name  in  Malwa,  where  after  expelling  the 
pleasure-loving  cultured  Afghan  governor  Baz  Baha- 
dur, he  behaved  grossly  towards  the  vanquished. 
‘ Baz  Bahadur  had  a Hindu  mistress  who  is  said 
to  have  been  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  ever 
seen  in  India.  She  was  as  accomplished  as  she  was 
fair,  and  was  celebrated  for  her  verses  in  the  Hindi 
language.  She  fell  into  the  hands  of  Adham  Khan 
on  the  flight  of  Baz  Bahadur,  and,  finding  herself 
unable  to  resist  his  importunities  and  threatened 
violence,  she  appointed  an  hour  to  receive  him,  put 
on  her  most  splendid  dress,  on  which  she  sprinkled 
the  richest  perfumes,  and  lay  down  on  a couch  with 
her  mantle  drawn  over  her  face.  Her  attendants 
thought  that  she  had  fallen  asleep,  but  on  endeavour- 
ing to  awake  her  on  the  approach  of  the  khan,  they 
found  she  had  taken  poison,  and  was  already  dead.’  ‘ 
Nor  was  this  all.  Other  ladies  of  Baz  Bahadur’s 
harim  were  in  Adham’s  possession,  and  when  Akbar 
himself  rode  to  Malwa  in  hot  haste  and  bitter  shame 
to  stop  his  lieutenant’s  atrocities,  Maham  Anaga  had 
' Khafi  Khan  ; Ei.phinstone,  501,  note. 


246 


MEDIMVAL  IND/A 


these  innocent  women  killed,  lest  they  should  tell 
tales  to  the  emperor.  Akbar  was  well  quit  of  both 
mother  and  son. 

Although  the  young  emperor  was  still  immature, 
and  it  was  many  years  before  he  entered  upon  that 
stage  of  philosophic  enlightenment  which  has  made 
his  name  a household  word  for  wisdom  and  tolera- 
tion, he  had  already  shown  something  of  his  char- 
acter and  self-reliance.  His  refusal  to  strike  the 
dying  Himu,  his  firm  and  yet  not  unkind  treatment 
of  his  revolted  regent,  his  honest  indignation  at 
Adham’s  iniquities,  show  that  Akbar  possessed  the 
right  spirit.  Physically  he  is  described  by  his  son 
Jahangir,  in  later  life,  as  of  middle  stature,  long  in 
the  arms  and  sturdy  of  figure,  rather  sallow  in  face, 
with  black  eyes  and  eyebrows  and  an  open  fore- 
head. A wart  on  the  left  side  of  his  nose  was 
regarded  as  not  only  auspicious  but  exceedingly 
beautiful.  His  voice  was  ringing,  and  in  spite  of 
little  culture  his  conversation  had  a charm  of  its 
own.  ‘His  manners  and  habits,’  adds  the  son,  ‘ were 
quite  different  from  those  of  other  people,  and 
his  countenance  was  full  of  godlike  dignity.’  His 
mode  of  life  was  regular  and  abstemious.  His  time 
was  carefully  filled,  and  he  slept  little;  ‘his  sleep 
looked  more  like  waking.’  He  ate  but  one  meal  a 
day,  and  that  in  moderation,  never  approaching 
satiety.  Ganges  water,  ‘ cooled  with  saltpetre,’  was 
his  drink,  and  it  was  kept  sealed  for  fear  of  poi- 
son. He  took  meat  but  twice  a week,  and  even 
then  with  repugnance,  for  he  disliked  making  his 
body  a ‘ tomb  for  beasts  ’ ; but  some  meat  he  found 


AKBAR'S  SPORT 


247 


necessary  to  support  his  fatigues.  He  was  a man 
of  great  energy  and  constant  occupation,  capable  of 
immense  and  prolonged  effort,  and  fond  of  all  manly 
exercises.  He  was  a fine  polo  player,  and  so  de- 
voted to  the  game  that  he  used  even  to  play  it 
by  night,  using  fireballs.  The  chase  was  his  keenest 
delight,  and  he  would  break  the  tedium  of  the  long 
marches  of  his  many  campaigns  by  hunting  ele- 
phants or  tigers  on  the  way.  We  read  of  350 
elephants  taken  in  a single  day ; at  another  time  he 
stalked  wild  asses  for  thirty-five  miles,  and  shot  six- 
teen. He  had  names  for  his  guns,  and  kept  records 
of  their  performances.  There  were  vast  battues 
{kamiirgha),  when  thousands  of  deer,  nilgao,  jackals, 
and  foxes,  were  driven  by  the  beaters  in  a circle 
of  forty  miles,  and  the  lines  drawn  closer  and  closer, 
till  Akbar  could  enjoy  at  his  ease  several  days 
shooting  and  hawking  with  plenty  of  sport,  and  still 
leave  a few  thousand  head  for  his  followers  to  prac- 
tise on.  These  battues  sometimes  took  place  by 
night,  and  there  is  a curious  painting  of  the  period 
showing  one  of  these  nocturnal  hunts,  with  the  em- 
peror on  horseback,  and  the  game,  startled  by  the 
bright  flashing  of  a lantern,  leaping  as  the  chief  shikar 
draws  his  bow.  Akbar  had  mechanical  genius.  He 
devised  a new  method  of  making  gun-barrels  of 
spirally  rolled  iron,  which  could  not  burst ; he  in- 
vented a machine  which  cleaned  sixteen  barrels  at 
once,  and  another  by  which  seventeen  guns  could 
be  fired  simultaneously  with  one  match.  There 
were  many  other  things  that  he  improved  by  his 
talent  for  mechanical  invention. 


248 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Nothing  seemed  to  fatigue  Akbar.  He  is  said  to 
have  ridden  from  Ajmir  to  Agra,  a distance  of  240 
miles,  in  a day  and  a night,  and  even  if  (with  some 
authorities)  we  double  the  time,  it  is  still  wonderful 
travelling,  and  one  is  not  surprised  to  read  that  he 
often  knocked  up  his  horses  when  pushing  on  night 
and  day  at  break-neck  speed.  He  liked  to  see  a 
good  fight,  too,  and  one  day  at  Thanesar  he  chanced 
upon  a curious  spectacle.  It  was  the  annual  festival, 
and  there  was  a vast  crowd  beside  the  sacred  lake ; 
the  holy  men  were  gathering  a rich  harvest  in  char- 
ity, when  the  customary  struggle  arose  between  two 
sects  of  fanatics  for  the  possession  of  the  bathing 
place.  They  came  to  the  emperor  and  begged  to 
be  allowed  to  fight  it  out  according  to  their  habit. 
He  consented,  and  allowed  some  of  his  soldiers  to 
smear  their  bodies  with  ashes  and  go  in  to  sup- 
port the  weaker  side.  There  was  a splendid  fight; 
many  were  killed,  we  are  told ; and  ‘ the  emperor 
greatly  enjoyed  the  sight.’ 

On  a campaign  Akbar  was  indefatigable.  In  one 
of  his  pursuits  of  Ali  Kuli  Khan-zaman,  an  Uzbeg 
officer  who  repeatedly  revolted  in  the  name  of 
Akbar’s  jealous  brother  Hakim,  and  was  as  often 
pardoned  by  his  too-forgiving  sovereign,  he  pushed 
on  so  rapidly  that  of  his  army  only  500  men  and 
elephants  succeeded  in  being  in  at  the  finish.  In 
spite  of  his  reduced  force  Akbar  rode  straight  for 
the  enemy,  and  took  his  own  share  of  the  fighting. 
‘As  the  battle  grew  hot,  the  emperor  alighted  from 
his  elephant,  Balsundar,  and  mounted  a horse. 
Then  he  gave  orders  for  the  elephants  to  be  driven 


AKBAR  IN  BA  TTLE 


249 


against  the  lines  of  AH  Kuli  Khan.  There  was 
among  them  an  elephant  named  Hiranand,  and 
when  he  approached  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  they 
let  loose  against  him  an  elephant  called  Diyana; 
but  Hiranand  gave  him  such  a butt  that  he  fell  upon 
the  spot.  Ali  Kuli  received  a wound  from  an 
arrow,  and  while  he  was  drawing  it  out  another 
struck  his  horse.  The  animal  became  restive  and  Ali 
Kuli  was  thrown.  An  elephant  named  Narsing  now 
came  up  and  was  about  to  crush  him,  when ’Ali 
Kuli  cried  out  to  the  driver,  “ I am  a great  man; 
if  you  take  me  alive  to  the  emperor  he  will  reward 
you.”  The  driver  paid  no  heed  to  his  words  but 
drove  the  animal  over  him  and  crushed  him  under 
foot.’  Many  prisoners  were  cast  to  the  elephants  to 
be  trampled  to  death,  a common  mode  of  execution 
in  India,  in  which  Akbar  showed  no  scruple.  After 
refusing,  in  his  chivalrous  way,  to  attack  an  un- 
prepared enemy  till  the  trumpets  had  announced 
his  approach,  he  had  no  qualms  about  making  a 
pyramid  of  two  thousand  rebels’  heads  after  the 
fashion  of  his  ancestor  Timur.  He  could  be  terribly 
stern,  and  was  subject  to  paroxysms  of  rage,  in  one 
of  which  he  threw  a servant  from  the  battlements 
for  falling  asleep  in  the  palace ; but  his  natural  in- 
clination was  ever  towards  mercy,  and  his  forgive- 
ness often  cost  him  dear. 

As  an  example  of  personal  courage  his  attack  on 
his  rebellious  cousins,  the  Mirzas,  at  Surat  in  1572 
may  be  instanced.  Pressing  on  at  his  usual  speed 
he  found  himself  on  the  bank  of  the  Mahindri  river 
in  face  of  the  enemy,  with  only  forty  men  to  his 


250 


MEDIALVAL  INDIA 


back.  Sixty  more  soon  joined  him,  and  with  this 
handful  he  forthwith  swam  the  river,  stormed  the 
town,  and  rushing  through  discovered  the  enemy 
in  a plain  on  the  other  side.  The  emperor’s  force 
was  outmatched  by  ten  to  one,  and  the  fighting  was 
desperate.  ‘ The  royal  forces  were  in  a narrow 
place,  hedged  in  with  thorns,  where  three  horsemen 
could  not  pass  abreast.  The  emperor  with  much 
courage  was  at  the  front,  with  Raja  Bhagwan  Das 
beside  him.  Three  of  the  enemy’s  horsemen  now 
charged  them.  One  attacked  the  raja,  who  hurled 
his  spear  at  him  and  wounded  him  as  he  was  en- 
tangled in  the  thorns,  so  that  he  fled  ; the  other  two 
attacked  his  . majesty,  who  received  them  so  stoutly 
that  they  were  forced  to  make  off.’  Two  officers 
now  joined  Akbar,  who,  refusing  their  escort,  sent 
them  after  his  assailants ; and  the  little  force,  roused 
by  their  emperor’s  danger,  utterly  routed  the  enemy. 
The  courage  of  Akbar  had  put  every  man  on  his 
mettle,  and  the  victors  returned  to  Baroda  the 
heroes  of  the  hour.  In  the  campaign  of  1572-3 
Akbar  not  only  retook  Ahmadabad  and  entered 
Cambay  and  Baroda,  but  captured  the  strong  fort 
of  Surat,  which  had  been  built  with  extraordinary 
care  and  skill  to  keejD  out  the  Portuguese,  and  con- 
tained mortars  bearing  the  name  of  Suleyman  the 
Great  of  Turkey.  When  Akbar  took  the  fort  of 
Junagarh  in  Kathiawar  in  1591  he  found  there  a 
gun  of  the  same  sultan,  whose  fleet  had  vainly  at- 
tacked the  coast  castles  and  was  forced  to  abandon 
the  guns. 

The  presence  of  the  Raja  Bhagwan  Das  at  Akbar’s 


alliance  with  RAJPUTS 


251 


side  in  the  skirmish  just  described  is  significant.  If 
he  had  not  been  altogether  successful  in  managing 
his  Mohammedan  followers —a  turbulent  body  of 
adventurers — the  emperor  more  than  redeemed  his 
over-indulgence  to  rebellious  Muslims  by  his  wise 
conciliation  of  Hindus.  It  may  be  that  the  very 
truculence  and  insubordination  which  he  found  so 
hard  to  check  among  his  Turkish  officers  threw  him 
perforce  into  the  arms  of  the  Rajputs;  for  we  can 
hardly  believe  that  a mere  lad,  brought  up  in  an 
atmosphere  of  despotic  rule,  could  as  yet  have 
imagined  the  ideal  of  a government  resting  upon 
the  loyalty  of  the  native  population.  As  early  as 
1562  Bhagwan’s  father.  Raja  Bihari  Mai,  the  lord  of 
Amber  and  ancestor  of  the  present  maharajas  of 
Jaipur,  had  come  to  pay  his  homage  to  the  new 
sovereign.  ‘ He  was  received  with  great  honour  and 
consideration,  and  his  daughter,  an  honourable  lady, 
was  accepted  by  his  majesty,  and  took  her  place 
among  the  ladies  of  the  court.’  ‘ Akbar  had  already 
married  his  cousins  Rukayya  and  Salima,  but  this 
union  with  a Rajput  princess  marked  a new  policy. 
Her  father  was  decorated  with  the  highest  rank  of 
the  official  aristocracy,  as  a mansabdar  or  general 
of  5000  horse,  and  the  bride,  freely  exercising  the 
rites  of  her  own  faith  and  performing  the  usual 
Hindu  sacrifices,  encouraged  her  husband’s  tendency 
towards  religious  toleration.  Later  on  he  took 
other  women,  Hindu,  Persian,  Moghul,  and  even  an 

' Tabakat-i-Akbari,  E.  and  D.,  v.,  274.  This  history  by  thecontem- 
porary  writer  Nizam-ad-din,  who  was  often  in  .tkbar’s  suite,  is  one 
of  our  best  authorities  for  the  greater  part  of  the  reign. 


252 


MEDI/EVAL  INDIA 


Armenian,  until  his  harim  formed  a parliament  of 
religions,  though  no  rumour  of  their  probable  debates 
ever  reached  the  outside  world.  Abu-1-Fazl  says 
there  were  more  than  five  thousand  women,  in 
various  capacities,  in  the  harim,  and  sagely  remarks 
that  ‘ the  large  number  of  women — a vexatious  ques- 
tion even  for  great  statesmen — furnished  his  majesty 
with  an  opportunity  to  display  his  wisdom.’ 

An  almost  immediate  result  of  this  alliance  with 
the  Rajput  princess  was  the  abolition  (in  1562) 
of  the  jizya  or  poll-tax  which  Mohammedan  con- 
querors levied  upon  unbelievers  in  accordance  with 
the  law  of  Islam.  His  next  act  was  to  discontinue 
the  tax  upon  Hindu  pilgrims,  on  the  ground  that, 
however  superstitious  the  rites  of  pilgrimage  might 
be,  it  was  wrong  to  place  any  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  a man’s  service  to  God.  No  more  popular 
measures  could  have  been  enacted.  The  jizya  was 
an  insult  as  well  as  a burden,  and  both  taxes  bore 
heavily  on  the  poor  and  were  bitterly  resented.  It 
was  the  re-imposition  of  the  tax  on  religion  in  the 
time  of  Aurangzib  that,  more  than  anything  else, 
uprooted  the  wise  system  established  by  his  an- 
cestor. But  whilst  conciliating  the  Hindus  by  just 
and  equal  government,  Akbar  did  not  hesitate  to 
interfere  with  some  of  their  most  cherished  practices 
when  they  offended  his  sense  of  humanity.  He 
forbade  child-marriage,  trial  by  ordeal,  animal  sacri- 
fice; he  permitted  widows  to  marry  again,  and  set 
his  face  resolutely  against  the  burning  of  widows  on 
their  husband’s  pyres:  wholly  to  abolish  sjittee  nns, 
beyond  his  power,  but  he  ordained  that  the  sacrifice 


HINDU  REFORMS 


253 


idea  in  a country  where  girls  were  married  without 
option. 

Akbar  was  too  shrewd  a man  to  suppose  that  the 
hereditary  pride  of  the  Rajputs  was  to  be  conquered 
merely  by  kind  words  and  mild  measures.  He  knew 
that  often  the  best  way  to  make  friends  with  a man 


must  be  voluntary,  and  he  took  personal  pains  to 
see  that  no  compulsion  should  be  used.  He  also 
insisted  that  ‘ the  consent  of  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom and  the  permission  of  the  parents  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  marriage  contracts’ — a new 


AGRA  GATE,  FATHPUR-SIKRI. 


254 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


is  to  knock  him  down.  Udai  Singh,  the  great  rana 
of  Mevvar  (son  of  Sanga,  Babar’s  adversary),  left  him 
in  no  doubt  as  to  his  hostility.  He  sheltered  Baz 
Bahadur  when  driven  out  of  Malwa-by  the  imperial 
army,  and  when  other  rajas  came  in  and  tendered 
their  allegiance  to  the  Moghul,  Udai  Singh  stood 
aloof,  apparently  secure  in  his  rocky  fortresses  and 
numerous  array  of  troops  and  elephants.  Akbar, 
he  thought,  could  never  take  his  strong  castle  of 
Chitor,  standing  on  an  isolated  crag,  four  hundred 
feet  high,  and  with  almost  perpendicular  sides  to- 
wards the  top.  The  summit  was  occupied  by  an 
immense  fortress,  well  supplied  with  provisions, 
wells,  and  water-tanks,  and  garrisoned  by  8ooo 
veterans  of  the  Rajput  race  under  a famous  leader, 
Jai  Mai,  the  rana  himself  having  prudently  retreated 
to  the  Aravali  hills  on  Akbar’s  approach  in  1567. 

Mulla  Ahmad  described  Chitor  in  Akbar’s  time’  : 
‘ The  castle  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a level  plain 
which  has  no  other  hills.  The  mountain  is  twelve 
miles  round  at  the  base,  and  nearly  six  at  the  sum- 
mit. On  the  east  and  north  it  is  faced  with  hard 
stone,  and  the  garrison  had  no  fears  on  those  sides, 
nor  could  guns,  swivels,  stone-slings  or  mangonels  do 
much  damage  on  the  other  sides,  if  they  managed 
to  reach  them.  Travellers  do  not  mention  any 
fortress  like  this  in  all  the  world.  The  whole  sum- 
mit was  crowded  with  buildings,  some  several 
storeys  high,  and  the  battlements  were  strongly 
guarded  and  the  magazines  full.’  The  garrison 
laughed  at  the  slender  forces — 3000  or  4CXDO — which 
' Tarikh-i-AlJi,  E.  and  D.,  v,  170-4. 


SIEGE  OE  CHI  TOR 


255 


the  emperor  had  brought  against  a fortress  twelve 
miles  in  girth,  and  well  they  might. 

They  had  to  deal  with  a skilful  engineer,  however, 
and  Akbar  made  his  dispositions  with  great  care. 
Batteries  were  set  up  all  around  the  fort,  and  a strict 
blockade  was  established.  Meanwhile  generals  were 
sent  to  seize  Rampur  and  Udaipur  and  lay  the  sur- 
rounding country  waste.  ‘From  day  to  day,’  says 
Mulla  Ahmad,  ‘the  gallant  assailants  brought  their 
attacks  closer  to  the  fort  on  every  side,  though  many 
fell  under  the  resolute  fire  of  the  defenders.  Orders 
were  given  for  digging  trenches  and  making  sabats, 
and  nearly  5000  builders,  carpenters,  masons,  smiths, 
and  sappers  were  mustered  from  all  parts.  Sabats 
are  contrivances  peculiar  to  Hindustan,  for  the 
strong  forts  of  that  land  are  full  of  guns,  muskets, 
and  defensive  machines,  and  can  only  be  taken  by 
this  means.  A sabat  is  a broad  covered  way,  under 
the  shelter  of  which  the  besiegers  approach  a fortress 
protected  from  gun  and  musket  fire.  Two  sabats 
were  accordingly  begun  ; one,  opposite  the  royal 
quarters,  was  so  broad  and  high  that  two  elephants 
and  two  horses  could  easily  pass  abreast,  with  raised 
spears.  The  sabats  were  begun  from  the  brow  of 
the  hill  (f.  e.  half-way  up,  below  the  perpendicular 
scarp),  which  is  a fortress  upon  a fortress.’  Seven  or 
eight  thousand  horsemen  and  gunners  strove  to  stop 
the  work,  and  in  spite  of  the  bull-hide  roofs  over  the 
labourers  a hundred  or  so  were  killed  every  day,  and 
their  corpses  were  used  as  building  materials.  There 
was  no  forced  labour,  by  Akbar’s  order,  but  the  vol- 
unteers were  stimulated  by  showers  of  money.  Soon 


256 


MEDIEVAL  IXDIA 


one  of  the  sabats  overtopped  the  wall  of  the  castle, 
and  on  the  roof  of  it  a gallery  was  made  whence  the 
emperor  could  watch  the  fight. 

Meanwhile  the  sappers  had  not  been  idle.  Tw'o 
bastions  were  mined  with  gunpowder,  and  a storm- 
ing party  was  drawn  up.  The  first  mine  blew  a bas- 
tion into  the  air,  and  the  stormers  rushed  into  the 
breach,  shouting  their  war-cry,  and  were  at  once  at 
hand-grip  with  the  garrison.  At  that  moment  the 
second  mine,  owing  to  a miscalculation,  exploded 
and  sent  the  struggling  crowd  in  the  breach  in  frag- 
ments into  the  air.  The  charge  was  so  heavy  that 
stones  and  corpses  were  hurled  ‘ miles  ’ away,  accord- 
ing to  the  historian,  and  the  royal  army  was  half 
blinded  by  the  dust  and  smoke  and  hail  of  stones 
and  bodies. 

The  first  approach  had  failed  : Akbar  now  ordered 
the  other  sabat  to  be  pushed  forward.  He  was  more 
resolved  than  ever  to  take  the  fort  by  storm  ‘ so  that 
in  future  no  other  fortress  should  dare  to  withstand 
him.’  He  took  up  his  position  in  the  gallery  on  the 
top  of  the  sabat,  as  before,  armed  with  his  musket, 
‘ deadly  as  the  darts  of  fate,  with  which  he  killed 
every  moving  thing  that  caught  his  eye.’  At  last 
the  walls  were  breached,  and  the  assault  was  ordered. 
Jai  Mai,  the  commandant,  ‘an  infidel  yet  valiant,’ 
struggled  bravely  in  every  part  and  all  day  long, 
encouraging  his  men  to  beat  off  the  enemy.  At  the 
hour  of  evening  prayer  he  came  in  front  of  the  royal 
battery,  where  Akbar  sat  discharging  his  gun  ‘ San- 
gram  ’ as  often  as  light  flashed  forth  in  the  bastion. 
Jai  Mai  happened  to  be  standing  in  the  tower  heart- 


STORMING  OF  CHI  TOR 


257 


ening  his  men  just  when  a blaze  of  light  revealed  his 
face  to  Akbar,  who  fired  and  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
Then  the  garrison  gave  up  hope,  and  after  burning 
the  body  of  their  leader,  they  performed  their  dismal 
rite  oijauhar, — burned  all  their  families  and  goods 
in  huge  bonfires,  and  then  rushed  upon  death.  The 
besiegers  saw  the  flare  of  the  pyres,  and  poured 
through  the  breaches,  whilst  Akbar  looked  on  from 
the  top  of  the  sabat.  Three  elephants  he  sent  into 
the  castle  to  aid  in  the  general  massacre  of  the  de- 
voted garrison.  The  Rajputs  fought  every  step; 
each  lane  and  street  and  bazar  was  sternly  disputed  ; 
they  fought  up  to  the  very  temple.  Two  thousand 
were  killed  by  midday ; the  total  death-roll  of  the 
Hindus  was  at  least  8000  men,  besides  their  families ; 
the  rest  were  made  prisoners.'  The  heroism  of  the 
defence  was  long  commemorated  in  popular  tradition 
by  the  two  statues,  supposed  to  represent  Jai  Mai 
and  his  brother,  mounted  on  stone  elephants,  which 
flanked  the  gate  of  the  fortress  at  Delhi.  ‘ These 
two  elephants,’  says  Bernier,  ‘ mounted  by  the  two 
heroes,  have  an  air  of  grandeur  and  inspire  me  with 
an  awe  and  respect  which  I cannot  describe.’ 

The  fall  of  Chitor,  followed  by  two  other  famous 
fortresses,  Rantambhor  and  Kalinjar,  a few  months 
later,  secured  the  allegiance  of  the  Rajputs.  The 
rajas  agreed  to  acclaim  a power  which  they  found  as 
irresistible  as  it  was  just  and  tolerant.  Akbar 
cemented  the  good  feeling  by  marrying  another 

' This  account  is  practically  identical  in  the  Tarikh-i-Alfi  and  the 
Tabakat-i-Akbari ; the  author  of  the  latter  work  was  present  in  one 
of  the  batteries. 


258 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


princess,  daughter  of  the  raja  of  Bikanir,  and  hence- 
forward he  could  rely  on  the  loyalty  of  the  most 
splendid  soldiery  in  India.*  In  his  future  campaigns, 
as  in  those  of  his  son  and  grandson,  there  were 
always  brave  Hindus  to  the  fore,  and  the  names  of 
Bhagwan  Das,  Man  Singh,  and  Todar  Mai  are 
famous  in  the  annals  of  Moghul  warfare  and  admin- 
istration. Bhagwan  Das  and  Man  Singh  not  only 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  wearisome  and  re- 
iterated campaigns  which  the  unsettled  state  of 
Gujarat  compelled  Akbar  to  undertake  for  a space  of 
twenty  years,  but  were  even  trusted  by  him  in  1578 
to  wage  war  upon  the  ever  hostile  rana  of  Udaipur, 
Rajput  against  Rajput.  They  justified  his  confi- 
dence, drove  the  rana  to  the  Indus,  and  captured 
his  strongholds  of  Goganda  and  Kunbhalmir. 

' The  rana  of  Udaipur,  however,  though  he  had  lost  Chitor,  re- 
tained his  pride.  He  never  submitted  ; and  his  family,  alone  among 
the  Rajput  princely  houses,  for  ever  disdained  to  marry  its  daughters 
with  the  Great  Moghuls.  The  present  lord  of  Udaipur  still  boasts 
unpolluted  Rajput  blood. 


CHAPTER  XI 
AKBAR’S  REFORMS 
THE  DIVINE  FAITH 
I 566-1605 

This  assimilation  of  the  Hindu  chiefs  was  the  most 
conspicuous  feature  of  Akbar’s  reign.  His  wars 
were  like  other  Indian  wars,  only  mitigated  by  his 
sovereign  quality  of  mercy  to  those  who  submitted, 
and  his  scrupulous  care  that  the  peasants  should  not 
suffer  by  the  passage  of  his  troops.  The  empire 
was  gradually  e.xtended  till  it  stretched  from  Kanda- 
har to  the  ba}'  of  Bengal,  and  included  the  whole  of 
Hindustan  down  to  the  Narbada.  But  the  remark- 
able points  about  this  expansion  to  the  old  limits  of 
Ala-ad-din’s  realm  were,  first,  that  it  was  done  with 
the  willing  help  of  the  Hindu  princes,  and,  secondly, 
that  expansion  went  hand  in  hand  with  orderly  ad- 
ministration. This  was  a new  thing  in  Indian  govern- 
ment, for  hitherto  the  local  officials  had  done  pretty 
much  as  it  pleased  them,  and  the  central  authority 
had  seldom  interfered  so  long  as  the  revenue  did 
not  suffer.  Akbar  allowed  no  oppression  — if  he 


259 


26o 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


knew  of  it  — his  lieutenants,  and  not  a few  of  his 
campaigns  were  undertaken  mainly  for  the  purpose 
of  punishing  governors  who  had  been  guilty  of  self- 
seeking  and  peculation.  Much  of  the  improvement 
was  due  to  his  employment  of  Hindus,  who  at  that 


THE  DIWAN-I-KHAS,  FATHPUR-SIKRI. 

time  were  better  men  of  business  than  the  unedu- 
cated and  mercenary  adventurers  who  formed  a large 
proportion  of  the  Mohammedan  invaders. 

No  Muslim  served  Akbar  more  zealously  or  with 
further  reaching  results  than  the  great  financier.  Raja 
Todar  Mai,  a Khatri  Rajput,  who  had  served  in  his 


TODAR  MAL 


261 


youth  under  the  able  administration  of  Slier  Shah, 
and  had  thus  gained  priceless  experience  in  the  man- 
agement of  lands  and  revenues.  He  assisted  Akbar’s 
first  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Muzaffar  Khan,  in 
settling  the  newly  acquired  kingdom,  and  in  1566 
took  a leading  part  in  suppressing  the  revolt  of  Ali 
Kuli.  It  was  the  first  time,  in  Moghul  rule,  that  a 
Hindu  had  been  sent  against  a Muslim  enemy,  and 
his  employment  was  doubtless  due  to  Akbar’s  suspi- 
cion that  the  Mohammedan  generals  might  act  in 
collusion  with  their  old  comrade,  the  rebel.  After 
this  he  was  employed  in  settling  the  revenue  system 
of  Gujarat,  and  then  again  took  military  command 
in  the  conquest  of  Bengal  in  1574-7  and  its  reduc- 
tion in  1581,  when  he  distinguished  himself  by  his 
firm  courage.  He  was  rewarded  soon  afterwards 
with  the  office  of  vezir;  and  in  1582  he  became  chief 
finance  minister,  and  introduced  the  famous  reforms 
and  the  new  assessment  known  as  Todar  Mai’s  rent- 
roll,  the  Domesday  Book  of  the  Moghul  empire. 
He  died  in  1589.  ‘Careful  to  keep  himself  from 
selfish  ambition,’  writes  Abu-1-Fazl,  ‘ he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  service  of  the  state,  and  earned  an 
everlasting  fame.’ 

There  is  no  name  in  mediaeval  history  more  re- 
nowned in  India  to  the  present  day  than  that  of 
Todar  Mai,  and  the  reason  is  that  nothing  in  Akbar’s 
reforms  more  nearly  touched  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple than  the  great  financier’s  reconstruction  of  the 
revenue  system.  The  land-tax  was  always  the  main 
source  of  revenue  in  India,  and  it  had  become 
almost  the  sole  universal  burden  since  Akbar  had 


262 


MEDIAiVAL  INDIA 


abolished  not  only  the  poll-tax  and  pilgrims’  dues 
but  over  fifty  minor  duties.'  The  object  was  now  to 
levy  a fair  rent  on  the  land,  which  should  support 
the  administration  without  unduly  burdening  the 
cultivators.  An  able  modern  Indian  administrator 
thus  describes  the  system."  ‘The  basis  of  the  land- 
revenue  was  the  recognition  that  the  agriculturist 
was  the  owner  of  the  soil,  the  state  being  entitled  to 
the  surplus  produce.  Sometimes  an  official  or  a 
court  favourite  obtains  an  alienation  of  the  state’s 
demands  on  a township  or  group  of  townships;  but 
the  grant,  even  if  declared  to  be  perpetual,  is  usually 
treated  as  temporary,  in  the  sense  that  it  is  liable  to 
be  resumed  at  the  death  of  the  grantee  or  at  the  de- 
mise of  the  crown.  That  being  the  normal  concep- 
tion in  systems  like  that  of  the  Muslims  in  Hindustan, 
the  agriculturists — especially  if  they  were  Hindus — 
were  taillables  et  corv^ables  a merci.  It  was  Sher 
Shah  who,  first  among  these  rulers,  perceived  the 
benefit  that  might  be  expected  from  leaving  a defi- 
nite margin  between  the  state’s  demand  and  the 

' The  increasing  land  revenue  of  the  Moghul  emperors  is  shown  in 
the  following  table  : 


Akbar 

• ■ • -1594 

;^i8,650,ooo 

“ 

Jahangir 

. ...162S 

Shah-Jahan . . . 

. . . . 1648 

24,750,000 

“ 

• ••■1655 

Aurangzib 

1697 

43,500,000 

(See  my  remarks  in  Sir  W.  W.  Hunter’s  Indian  Empire,  3d  ed., 
354-356.) 

^ H.  G.  Keene,  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Hindustan,  160-162,  etc. 


TODAR  MAL'S  SETTLEMENT 


263 


expenses  of  cultivation.  The  determination  of  this 
margin,  and  the  recognition  of  the  person  who  should 
be  secured  in  its  enjoyment,  formed  the  basis  of  the 
system  which,  under  the  name  of  “ settlement,”  still 
prevails  in  most  parts  of  India. 

‘A  fixed  standard  of  mensuration  having  been 
adopted,  the  land  was  surveyed.  It  was  then  classi- 
fied, according  as  it  was  waste,  fallow,  or  under  crop. 
The  last  class  was  taken  as  the  basis  of  assessment, 
that  which  produced  cereals,  vetches,  or  oil-seeds  be- 
ing assessed  to  pay  one-third  of  the  average  gross 
produce  to  the  state,  the  other  two-thirds  being  left 
to  the  cultivators.  . . . This  was  a complete 

departure  from  the  law  of  Islam,  for  it  made  no  dif- 
ference between  the  revenue  raised  from  Muslims 
and  that  raised  from  unbelievers.  Sher  Shah’s  de- 
mand was  in  no  case  to  be  exceeded.  It  is  very 
noticeable  that  Akbar  added  to  his  policy  of  union 
the  equally  important  policy  of  continuity  of  sys- 
tem. He  aimed  at  securing  to  the  peasant  the 
power  of  enjoying  his  property  and  profiting  by  the 
fruit  of  his  labours.  The  needy  husbandman  was 
furnished  with  advances,  repayable  on  easy  terms. 
The  assessments  when  once  made  were  assessed  for 
nineteen  years;  and  after  the  24th  year  of  the  reign, 
the  aggregate  collections  of  the  past  ten  years  having 
been  added  together  and  divided  by  ten,  the  future 
collections  were  made  on  the  basis  of  this  decennial 
average. 

‘ Care  was  taken  to  provide  easy  means  of  com- 
plaint when  undue  collections  were  exacted  and  to 
punish  severely  the  guilty  exactors.  The  number  of 


264 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


minor  officials  employed  in  realizing  the  recorded 
dues  was  diminished  by  one-half.  The  cultivators 
were  to  be  made  responsible,  jointly  as  well  as  sev- 
erally ; the  cultivators  of  fallow  land  were  to  be 
favoured  for  two  years;  advances  of  seed  and  money 
were  to  be  made  when  necessary,  arrears  being 
remitted  in  the  case  of  small  holdings.  Collectors 
were  to  make  yearly  reports  on  the  conduct  of  their 
subordinates.  Monthly  returns  were  to  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  imperial  exchequer.  Special  reports 
were  to  be  sent  up  of  any  special  calamities,  hail, 
flood,  or  drought.  The  collectors  were  to  see  that 
the  farmers  got  receipts  for  their  payments,  which 
were  to  be  remitted  four  times  in  the  year;  at  the 
end  of  that  period  no  balance  should  be  outstanding. 
Payments  were  if  possible  to  be  voluntary,  but  the 
standing  crops  were  theoretically  hypothecated,  and 
where  needful  were  to  be  attached.  Above  all,  there 
was  to  be  an  accurate  and  minute  record  of  each 
man’s  holding  and  liabilities.  The  very  successful 
land-revenue  system  of  British  India  is  little  more 
than  a modification  of  these  principles.’ 

One  special  feature  of  Todar  Mai’s  system  was 
the  enactment  that  all  government  accounts  should 
be  kept  in  Persian  instead  of  in  Hindi,  as  heretofore. 
‘ He  thus  forced  his  co-religionists  to  learn  the  court 
language  of  their  rulers — a circumstance  that  may 
be  compared  with  the  introduction  of  the  English 
language  in  the  courts  of  India.  The  study  of 
Persian  therefore  became  necessary  for  its  pecuniary 
advantage.  Todar  Mai’s  order,  and  Akbar’s  gener- 
ous policy  of  allowing  Hindus  to  compete  for  the 


STATUS  OF  HINDUS 


265 


highest  honours, — Man  Singh  was  the  first  “Com- 
mander of  7000,” — explain  two  facts:  first,  that 


THE  CENTRAL  COLUMN  IN  THE  UIWAN-I-KHAS,  FATHPUR-SIKRI. 

before  the  end  of  the  i8th  century  the  Hindus  had 
almost  become  the  Persian  teachers  of  the  Moham- 
medans; secondly,  that  a new  dialect  could  arise  in 


266 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


Upper  India,  the  Urdu,  which,  without  the  Hindus 
as  receiving  medium,  could  never  have  been  called 
into  existence.  Whether  we  attach  more  import- 
ance to  Todar  Mai’s  order  or  to  Akbar’s  policy, 
which  when  once  initiated  his  successors,  willing  or 
not,  had  to  follow,  one  fact  should  be  borne  in  mind, — 
that  before  the  time  of  Akbar  the  Hindus  as  a rule 
did  not  study  Persian  and  stood  therefore  politi- 
cally below  their  Mohammedan  rulers.’  ' 

Such  changes,  which  put  the  subdued  Hindu 
absolutely  on  a level  with  the  conquering  Muslim, 
were  naturally  repugnant  to  Akbar’s  more  bigoted 
followers.  The  contemporary  historian  Badauni 
writes  bitterly  on  the  subject,  and  his  cynicism  is  a 
useful  corrective  to  the  enthusiastic  panegyrics  of 
other  writers  of  the  time.  Yet  even  when  he 
wishes  to  make  things  appear  in  the  worst  light,  he 
really  shows  the  excellence  of  the  intentions,  at 
least,  of  the  new  measures,  whilst  exposing  some  of 
their  defects.  For  instance,  referring  to  one  of  the 
early  attempts  at  land  assessment,  in  1574,  he 
says  “ : 

‘ In  this  year  an  order  was  promulgated  for  im- 
proving the  cultivation  of  the  country  and  for 
bettering  the  condition  of  the  rayg.ts  (peasants). 
All  the  parganas  (fiscal  unions)  of  the  country, 
whether  dry  or  irrigated,  in  towns  or  hills,  deserts 
or  jungles,  by  rivers  or  reservoirs  or  wells,  were  to 
be  measured,  and  every  piece  of  land  large  enough 
to  produce  when  cultivated  one  cror  of  tankas  was 

* II.  Bi.OCHMAN.n,  Ain-i-Akbari,  i,  352. 

* Badauni,  ii,  189;  E.  and  I).,  v,  513-516. 


LAND  SURVEY 


267 


to  be  divided  off  and  placed  under  the  charge  of  an 
officer  called  the  crori,  selected  for  his  trustworthi- 
ness and  without  regard  to  his  acquaintance  with 
the  revenue  officials:  so  that  in  three  years’  time  all 
the  uncultivated  land  might  be  brought  under  crops, 
and  the  treasury  be  replenished.  The  measurement 
was  begun  near  Fathpur,  and  one  cror  was  named 
Adampur,  another  Sethpur,  and  so  on  after  prophets 
and  patriarchs.  Rules  were  laid  down,  but  were  not 
properly  observed,  and  much  of  the  land  was  laid 
waste  through  the  rapacity  of  the  croris ; the  peas- 
ants’ wives  and  children  were  sold  and  dispersed, 
and  everything  went  to  confusion.  But  the  croris 
were  brought  to  account  by  Raja  Todar  Mai,  and 
many  pious  men  died  from  severe  beatings  and  the 
, torture  of  rack  and  pincers.  Indeed  so  many  died 
after  long  imprisonment  by  the  revenue  officers  that 
the  executioner  or  headsman  was  forestalled.’ 

All  this  is  intended  by  the  writer  to  cast  ridicule 
on  the  reforms,  but  it  really  shows  that  they  were 
good  and  moreover  were  strictly  enforced.  The 
same  cynic  can  see  no  advantage  in  Akbar’s  system 
of  territorial  commands.  The  Moghul  officers  — 
Hindus  and  Muslims  — were  spread  over  the  land,  and 
the  state  taxes  were  granted  to  them  in  certain  dis- 
tricts— except  the  Khalisa  or  exchequer  lands — in  re- 
turn for  military  service.  They  had  to  bring  a fixed 
number  of  men-at-arms,  horses,  and  elephants,  into 
the  field,  and  were  rated,  according  to  the  number 
they  brought,  as  mansabdars  of  ten,  twenty,  a hund- 
red, a thousand,  etc.  It  was  no  invention  of  Ak- 
bar’s, for  we  have  seen  it  at  work  in  much  earlier 


268 


MEDIEVAL  IND/A 


times,  and  of  course  it  was  liable  to  abuse,  though 
Akbar  did  much  to  remove  the  old  dangers  and  cor- 
ruptions of  the  system.  Badauni  said  that  the 
laziness,  licence,  extravagance,  and  greed  of  the  man- 
sabdars  ate  up  all  the  grant,  and  no  money  was  left 
to  pay  the  soldiers,  so  the  amirs  dressed  up  their 
grooms  and  servants  as  men-at-arms  and  passed  them 
off  at  the  muster,  and  then  sent  them  back  to  their 
duties.  ‘The  treasure,  tax-gathering,  and  expendi- 
ture of  the  mansabdars  remained  unchanged,  but  in 
every  way  dirt  fell  into  the  plate  of  the  poor  soldier, 
and  he  could  not  gird  up  his  loins.  Weavers,  cot- 
ton-dressers, carpenters,  and  Hindu  and  Muslim 
chandlers  would  hire  a charger,  bring  it  to  the  mus- 
ter, obtain  a mansab  [or  order  on  the  land-revenue], 
and  become  a crori,  trooper,  or  substitute  for  some- 
one : a few  days  later  not  a trace  would  be  found  of 
the  hired  horse,  and  they  became  footmen  again. 
. . . This  sort  of  trade  was  carried  on  to  a great 

extent  [and  Akbar  knew  it] ; nevertheless  the  em- 
peror’s good  luck  was  such  that  his  foes  were  every- 
where crushed,  and  soldiers  were  not  so  much 
wanted.’  As  the  enemies  could  not  be  crushed 
without  soldiers,  the  system,  though  abused,  appears 
to  have  answered  its  purpose. 

There  were  doubtless  many  imperfections  and 
many  cases  of  malversation  in  spite  of  Akbar’s 
efforts;  but  this  is  only  to  say  that  the  best  system 
in  the  world  is  open  to  abuse,  especially  in  an  orien- 
tal country  where  to  cheat  the  government  is  a 
virtue  and  to  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor  a venial 
fault.  The  real  reason  that  Badauni  is  so  severe 


SUFI  INFLUENCES 


269 


upon  these  reforms  is  that  they  were  but  a part  of  a 
general  tendency  to  lax  views  on  the  part  of  the 
emperor.  It  was  not  merely  in  his  just  and  equable 
treatment  of  the  Hindus  that  Akbar  showed  his 
broad  and  open  mind.  There  were  other  influences 
at  work  besides  those  of  his  Hindu  wives  and  friends, 
and  they  all  made  for  what  the  orthodox  Badauni 
denounced  as  latitudinarian.  A king  who  was  con- 
stitutionally unable  to  see  why  a Hindu  should  pay 
more  taxes  than  a Muslim  was  also  liable  to  equally 
deplorable  liberality  in  matters  of  faith,  and  Akbar 
had  been  deeply  moved  by  the  mystical  doctrines  of 
the  Persian  Sufis  as  revealed  to  him  by  two  brilliant 
brothers.  From  the  time  when  Faizi,  the  mystic  poet, 
joined  the  emperor’s  suite  at  the  siege  of  Chitor  in 
1568,  and  still  more  when  seven  years  later  he  intro- 
duced his  young  brother,  the  gentle  and  enthusiastic 
scholar  Abu-1-Fazl,  Akbar’s  mind  had  been  unsettled 
in  religion.  He  was  essentially  eclectic,  and  saw  good 
in  almost  every  form  of  worship.  From  his  youth  he 
had  delighted  in  the  conversation  of  scholars  and 
philosophers  and  shown  the  greatest  deference  to 
real  learning ; he  had  books  read  aloud  to  him  daily 
from  his  rich  library,  and  would  go  through  them 
again  and  again  ; and  now  under  the  influence  of  the 
speculative  mind  of  Abu-1-Fazl, — a man  of  wide 
culture  and  pure  spiritual  ideals,  who  recognized  his 
hero  in  his  king,  and  devoted  himself  to  him  with  his 
whole  heart, — he  began  to  encourage  debates  on 
doctrinal  and  philosophical  questions  and  displayed 
an  eager  curiosity  in  the  discussions. 

These  debates  took  place  in  a hall  called  the 


2/0 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


Hall  of  Worship  (Ibadat-Khana, — supposed  to  be 
identical  with  that  now  known  as  the  Diwan-i-Khas) 
founded  in  1574  at  the  city  of  Fathpur,  which  had 
become  the  emperor’s  favourite  residence.'  The  city 
itself  was  the  offspring  of  faith.  Akbar,  at  least  in 


THE  GREAT  GATEWAY,  BALAND  DARWAZA,  FATHPUR-SIKRI. 


the  earlier  part  of  his  reign,  was  a devout  visitor  of 
holy  places,  and  frequented  the  tombs  of  Muslim 
saints.  We  read  again  and  again  how  he  made 

’ lie  had  already  built  the  famous  Red  Fort  at  .-tgra,  where  the 
court  had  usually  resided.  Later,  Delhi  and  Lahore  also  became 
favourite  cities  where  .\kbar  often  held  his  court. 


FA  THPUR-SIKRI 


271 


solemn  pilgrimages  to  famous  shrines ; and  one  of 
his  objects  was  to  secure  an  heir,  for  up  to  the  four- 
teenth year  of  his  reign  none  of  the  sons  born  to  him 
had  lived.  He  repaired  to  a holy  man  dwelling  in  a 
cave  at  the  village  of  Sikri,  not  far  from  Agra  ; the  her- 
mit promised  him  a son  ; and  Akbar  placed  his  wife, 
the  princess  of  Amber,  under  the  care  of  the  saint  till 
her  time  should  be  accomplished.  Sikri,  as  well  as 
its  local  prophet,  waxed  rich  and  populous  by  the 
numerous  visits  of  the  anxious  king.  Palaces  began 
to  rise  (1569),  and  the  prophet,  Salim  Chishti,set  up 
a new  monastery  and  a noble  mosque.  The  aristo- 
crats built  them  mansions  near  the  palace.  Sikri 
knew  itself  no  more,  and  its  name  was  changed 
to  Fathpur,  ‘the  town  of  victory.’  Happily  the 
seer  was  justified  in  the  event,  and  Akbar’s  son, 
named  after  the  holy  man  Salim,  but  better 
known  afterwards  as  the  emperor  Jahangir,  was 
safely  ushered  into  the  world.  Fathpur  derived 
fresh  lustre  from  this  auspicious  event,  and  Akbar 
lavished  all  the  taste  and  art  of  the  age  upon  its 
adornment. 

Nothing  sadder  or  more  beautiful  exists  in  India 
than  this  deserted  city  • — tli£  silent  witness  of  a van- 
ished dream.  It  still  stands,  with  its  circuit  of 
seven  miles,  its  seven  bastioned  gates,  its  wonderful 
palaces,  peerless  in  all  India  for  noble  design  and 
delicate  adornment;  its  splendid  mosque  and  pure 
marble  shrine  of  the  hermit  saint ; its  carvings 
and  paintings  — stands  as  it  stood  in  Akbar’s  time, 
but  now  a body  without  a soul.  Reared  with  infin- 
ite thought  and  curious  care,  it  was  deserted  fourteen 


2/2 


MEDIy^VAL  INDIA 


years  later.  When  William  Finch  visited  it  five 
years  after  its  founder’s  death  he  found  it  ‘ ruinate, 
lying  like  a waste  district,  and  very  dangerous  to 
pass  through  at  night.’  Ruinate  it  has  remained 
ever  since,  desolate  and  abandoned.  No  later  ruler 
of  India  has  ever  aspired  to  dwell  in  Akbar’s  Ver- 
sailles, just  as  none  ever  rose  to  the  height  of 
Akbar’s  ideals.  In  the  empty  palaces,  the  glorious 
mosque,  the  pure  white  tomb,  the  baths,  the  lake,  at 
every  turn  we  recognize  some  memory  of  the  great- 
est of  Indian  emperors.  We  may  even  enter  his 
bedroom,  the  Khwabgah  or  ‘home  of  dreams,’  and 
see  the  very  screens  of  beautiful  stone  tracery, 
the  same  Persian  couplets,  the  identic  ornament 
in  gold  and  ultramarine  on  which  Akbar  feasted  his 
eyes  in  the  long  sultry  afternoons  of  the  Indian 
plains.  We  may  walk  into  the  houses  of  Faizi  and 
Abu-1-Fazl,  the  laureate  and  the  premier  of  his 
empire,  who  sang  his  glory  and  chronicled  his  reign. 
We  may  stand  in  the  audience  hall,  with  its  pillar 
throne  and  galleries,  where  the  keenest  dialectic 
of  Muslim  schoolmen.  Catholic  priests.  Pantheists, 
Fireworshippers,  Brahmans,  and  Buddhists,  rose  in 
heated  battle  for  their  creeds,  till  quarrels  and  coarse 
vituperation  called  up  the  bitter  sneer  of  the  puri- 
tanic Badauni  and  the  regretful  contempt  of  the 
royal  seeker  after  truth. 

Fathpur,  with  its  beauty  in  desolation,  has  stirred 
the  poet’s  vision  of  a Heber,  and  compelled  the 
homage  of  the  wisest  critic  of  Indian  art.  Fergus- 
son  wrote  of  the  ‘ Turkish  Sultana’s  House,’  which 
still  overlooks  the  Pachisi  Court,  where  Akbar  is 


CHRISTIAN  ART 


273 


said  to  have  played  his  games  of  living  chess  with 
slave-girls  as  pieces  moving  on  the  chequered  pave- 
ment, that  nothing  can  be  conceived  so  picturesque 
in  outline,  so  richly  and  marvellously  carved,  without 
one  touch  of  extravagance  or  false  taste.  The  five- 
storeyed Panch  Mahall,  a kind  of  Buddhist  Vihara, 
and  the  house  of  Akbar’s  witty  Hindu  favourite.  Raja 
Birbal,  have  their  individual  charm  ; and  the  frescoes 
in  ‘ Miraim’s  Kothi  ’ are  curious  documents  in  the 
history  of  Indian  painting,  of  which  we  obtain  some 
glimpses  in  the  albums  of  Moghul  portraits,  drawn 
by  artists  of  the  Panjab,  now  preserved  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum  and  a few  private  collections.  The 
presence  of  Jesuit  Fathers  at  Agra,  attracted  by  the 
benevolent  Catholicism  of  Akbar,  accounts  for  some 
of  the  characteristics  of  these  curious  paintings.' 
Aureoles  and  angels  appear  ; a little  later  we  find  the 
Blessed  Virgin  represented  in  a kiosk  of  Jahangir; 
and  scenes  of  Christian  hagiography  were  favourite 
subjects  with  Moghul  artists.  The  Annunciation  is 

' ‘ In  g86  (1578)  the  missionaries  of  Europe,  who  are  called  Padres, 
and  whose  chief  pontiff  called  Papa  promulgates  his  interpretations 
for  the  use  of  the  people,  and  w'ho  issues  mandates  that  even  kings 
dare  not  disobey,  brought  their  Gospel  to  the  emperor’s  notice, 
advanced  proofs  of  the  Trinity,  and  affirmed  the  truth  and  spread 
abroad  the  knowledge  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  The  emperor 
ordered  Prince  Murad  to  learn  a few  lessons  from  the  Gospel  and 
to  treat  it  with  all  due  respect,  and  Shaikh  Abu-1-Fazl  was  ordered 
to  translate  it.  Instead  of  the  prefatory  Bis?nillah,  the  following 
ejaculation  was  enjoined:  “O  thou  whose  name  is  Jesus  Christ.”’ 

— Bad.vuni,  ii,  260,  but  he  translates  Ay  nam-i-way  Zhezhu  Kiristu 
(which  is  obscurely  written)  as  ‘ O thou  whose  name  is  merciful  and 
bountiful’:  E.  and  D.,  v,  529;  Ain,  i,  183,  where  the  better  form 

Ay  tiam-i-tii  Dezttz  o Kiristo  ( from  the  Du/nstan)  is  given. 

18 


274 


MEDI/EVAL  INDIA 


believed  to  be  depicted  in  a fresco  at  Fathpur-Sikri, 
whilst  another  strongly  resembles  the  fall  of  Adam. 
There  are  even  traces  of  the  work  of  Chinese  artists 
in  the  Buddhist  paintings  in  the  ‘ Home  of  Dreams.’ 
Indeed  this  Indian  Pompeii,  with  its  unique  and  never 
iterative  designs,  is  a museum  of  exquisite  aes- 
thetic genius.'  Akbar’s  views  on  art  were  character- 
istic. One  day  he  remarked  to  some  friends : ‘ There 
are  many  that  hate  painting,  but  such  men  I dislike. 
It  appears  to  me  as  if  a painter  had  quite  peculiar 
means  of  recognizing  God  ; for  a painter,  in  sketching 
anything  that  has  life,  and  in  devising  its  limbs  one 
after  the  other,  must  come  to  feel  that  he  cannot  be- 
stow personality  upon  his  work,  and  is  thus  forced 
to  think  of  God,  the  giver  of  life,  and  will  thus 
increase  in  knowledge.’"  He  had  always  been  fond 
of  painting,  and  kept  a number  of  painters  at  court, 
whose  work  was  displayed  before  him  every  week. 
‘Hence  the  art  flourishes,’  says  Abu-1-Fazl,  ‘and 
many  painters  have  obtained  great  reputations  . 

and  masterpieces  worthy  of  [ the  famous  Per- 
sian court  painter]  Bihzad  may  be  placed  at  the  side 
of  the  wonderful  works  of  the  European  painters 
who  have  attained  world-wide  fame.  The  minuteness 
in  detail,  the  general  finish,  the  boldness  of  exe- 
cution, etc.,  now  observed  in  pictures,  are  incompar- 
ble.’  This  was  written  in  Akbar’s  lifetime,  and  it 
is  noteworthy  that  the  historian  distinguishes  the 

’ It  has  been  admirably  surveyed,  described,  and  illustrated,  by 
Mr.  E.  \V.  Smith,  of  the  Archseological  Survey  of  India:  Tht 

Moghul  Architecture  of  Fathpur-Sikri,  4 vols.,  1894  ff. 

Ain,  i,  107,  108. 


THE  DIVINE  FAITH 


275 


Hindu  painters  as  the  best  among  the  hundred  fam- 
ous masters  of  the  age,  though  he  mentions  some 
great  artists  from  Persia. 

In  this  fairy  city  Akbar’s  dream  of  a universal 
religion  grew  into  definite  shape.  It  was  in  the 
Hall  of  Worship  that  he  sought  wearily  to  elicit 
truth  from  the  debates  of  professors.  ‘ The  unity 
that  had  existed  among  the  learned  disappeared 
in  the  very  beginning ; abuse  took  the  place  of  argu- 
ment, and  the  plainest  rules  of  etiquette  were,  even 
in  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  forgotten.  Akbar’s 
doubts  instead  of  being  cleared  up  only  increased  ; 
certain  points  of  the  Hanafi  law,  to  which  most  Sun- 
nis cling,  were  found  to  be  better  established  by  the 
dicta  of  lawyers  belonging  to  the  other  three  sects; 
and  the  moral  character  of  the  Prophet  was  next 
scrutinized  and  found  wanting.  Makhdum-al-mulk 
[the  head  of  the  ultra-bigoted  orthodox  party]  wrote 
a spiteful  pamphlet  against  Shaikh  Abd-an-Nabi, 
the  Sadr  [or  chancellor]  of  the  empire,  and  the  latter 
retorted  by  calling  Makhdum  a fool  and  cursing 
him.  Abu-1-Fazl,  upon  whom  Akbar  from  the  be- 
ginning had  fixed  as  the  leader  of  his  party,  fanned 
the  quarrels  by  skilfully  shifting  the  disputes  from 
one  point  to  another.’’  The  heated  discussions  of 
the  learned  men  whom  he  gathered  together  on 
Thursday  nights  to  defend  the  dogmas  of  their 
creeds  only  inspired  him  with  compassion  for  the 
futility  of  their  reasoning  and  contempt  for  the  nar- 
rowness of  their  grasp.  To  Akbar’s  open  eyes  there 
was  truth  in  all  faiths,  but  no  one  creed  could  hold 
‘Blochmann,  Ain,  i,  p.  xiii. 


THE  TURKISH  SULIANA’S  HOUSE,’  PATH I’UR-SIKRL 


THE  DIVINE  FAITH 


277 


the  master-key  of  the  infinite.  In  Abu-l-Fazl’s 
words, — 

O God,  in  every  temple  I see  those  who  see  thee,  and  in 
every  tongue  that  is  spoken,  thou  art  praised. 
Polytheism  and  Islam  grope  after  thee. 

Each  religion  says,  ‘ Thou  art  one,  without  equal.’ 

Be  it  mosque,  men  murmur  holy  prayer;  or  church,  the 
bells  ring,  for  love  of  thee. 

Awhile  I frequent  the  Christian  cloister,  anon  the  mosque: 
But  thee  only  I seek  from  fane  to  fane. 

Thine  elect  know  naught  of  heresy  or  orthodoxy,  whereof 
neither  stands  behind  the  screen  of  thy  truth. 

Heresy  to  the  heretic, — dogma  to  the  orthodox, — 

But  the  dust  of  the  rose-petal  belongs  to  the  heart  of  the 
perfume-seller. 

Tennyson  has  finely  expressed  Akbar’s  dream 
of  a pure  and  universal  faith  : 

I can  but  lift  the  torch 
Of  reason  in  the  dusky  cave  of  Life, 

And  gaze  on  this  great  miracle,  the  World, 
Adoring  That  who  made,  and  makes,  and  is. 

And  is  not,  what  I gaze  on  — all  else  Form, 
Ritual,  varying  with  the  tribes  of  men. 

It  had  taken  many  j'ears  to  develop  this  new 
religion  of  catholic  comprehension.  Akbar  would 
often  sit,  in  the  first  hour  of  dawn,  on  a stone  in  his 
palace  court,  watching  the  rising  of  the  day-god  and 
meditating  on  the  mystery  of  life.  He  was  passing 
through  a stage  of  earnest  doubt.  He  listened 
eagerly  to  the  words  of  the  Christian  fathers,  to  the 


278 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Vedanta  philosophy  of  ascetic  yogis ; he  had  Sans- 
krit classics  translated  for  him,  and  ordered  a trans- 
lation of  the  Gospels;  he  must  have  known  the 
Buddhist  doctrine  and  the  profound  metaphysic 
of  India.  Islam  no  longer  satisfied  him,  though  his 
instinctive  devoutness  still  took  him  on  pilgrimages 
to  Muslim  shrines,  and  as  late  as  the  twenty-first 
year  of  his  reign  he  was  contemplating  a journey  to 
Mekka.  But  Islam  was  too  bounded  for  his  ex- 
panding soul.  The  outward  symbols  went : the  Mus- 
lim shibboleth  vanished  from  the  coinage,  and  the 
ambiguous  formula  ‘ Allahu  Akbar,’  ‘ God  is  most 
great  ’ (or,  as  detractors  construed  it,  ‘ Akbar  is 
God  ’ ),  took  its  place.  When  Muslims  met,  instead 
of  the  customary  salam,  they  were  to  say  ‘Allahu 
Akbar,’  and  the  reply,  ‘Jalla  Jalaluh,’  ‘May  his 
glory  shine!  ’ contained  another  suspicious  reference 
to  Akbar’s  surname  Jalal-ad-din.  Whilst  plainly  de- 
claring that  he  pretended  to  no  divine  incarnation, 
such  as  the  Shi‘a  avow,  the  emperor  assumed  a 
wholly  new  position  in  relation  to  matters  of  faith. 
He  found  that  the  rigid  Muslims  of  the  court  were 
always  casting  in  his  teeth  some  absolute  authority, 
a book,  a tradition,  a decision  of  a canonical  divine, 
and  like  Henry  VI 1 1 he  resolved  to  cut  the  ground 
from  under  them  : he  would  himself  be  the  head  of 
the  church,  and  there  should  be  no  pope  in  India  but 
Akbar. 

His  first  assumption  of  the  role  of  priest-king  was 
unintentionally  dramatic.  Following  the  precedents 
of  the  caliphs  of  old,  he  stood  before  the  people  in 
the  great  mosque  of  Fathpur  one  Friday  in  1580, 


IMPERIAL  INFALLIBILITY 


279 


and  began  to  read  the  bidding  prayer  {khiitba),  into 
which  Faizi  had  introduced  these  lines: 

The  Lord  to  me  the  Kingdom  gave, 

He  made  me  prudent,  strong  and  brave. 

He  guided  me  with  right  and  ruth. 

Filling  my  heart  with  love  of  truth  ; 

No  tongue  of  man  can  sum  His  State — 

Allahu  Akbar  ! God  is  great.’ 

But  the  emotion  of  the  scene,  the  sight  of  the 
multitude,  the  thought  of  his  high  office,  were  too 
much  for  him.  Akbar  faltered  and  broke  down,  and 
the  court  preacher  had  to  finish  the  prayer. 

Soon  afterwards  Akbar  promulgated  a document 
unique  in  the  history  of  the  Mohammedan  world. 
It  was  drawn  up  by  the  father  of  Faizi  and  Abu- 
1-Fazl,  himself  a Shi‘a  pantheist,  and  it  was  signed^ 
sorely  against  their  will,  by  the  orthodox  divines  and 
lawyers  of  the  court.  It  set  forth  in  unmistakable 
terms  that  the  authority  of  the  just  king  is  higher 
than  that  of  a Mujtahid  (or  sublime  doctor  of  the 
faith),  and  therefore  that,  should  a religious  question 
come  up  regarding  which  the  Mujtahids  are  at  vari- 
ance, the  emperor’s  decision  should  be  binding  on 
the  Muslims  of  India,  and  any  opposition  to  the  im- 
perial decrees  should  involve  the  loss  of  goods  and 
religion  in  this  world  and  insure  damnation  in  the 
world  to  come.’  In  other  words  Akbar’s  judgment 
was  set  above  every  legal  and  religious  authority 

' Mr.  II.  G.  Keene’s  rendering. 

Badauni,  ii,  272  ; Blocmmann,  Am,  i,  186-187. 


28o 


MEDIj^VAL  INDIA 


except  the  plain  letter  of  the  Koran.  It  was  a pro- 
mulgation of  a doctrine  of  imperial  infallibility. 

After  thus  breaking  sharply  with  the  principles  of 
Mohammedan  tradition,  Akbar  went  as  of  old  on 
pilgrimage  to  a saint’s  tomb.  Badauni  grimly  smiled 
and  said  ‘ it  was  strange  that  his  majesty  should 
have  such  faith  in  the  good  man  of  Ajmir  whilst 
rejecting  the  foundation  of  everything,  our  Prophet, 
from  whose  skirt  hundreds  of  thousands  of  first-class 
saints  had  sprung.’  With  the  same  superstitious 
bent,  oddly  contrasting  with  his  philosophic  theory, 
Akbar  is  said  to  have  varied  the  colours  of  his 
clothes  in  accordance  with  the  regent  planet  of  the 
day,  to  have  muttered  spells  at  night  to  subdue  the 
sun  to  his  desires,  prostrated  himself  publicly  before 
the  sun  and  the  sacred  fire,  and  made  the  whole 
court  rise  respectfully  when  the  lamps  were  lighted. 
On  the  festival  of  the  eighth  day  after  the  sun 
entered  Virgo,  the  emperor  came  forth  to  the 
audience  chamber  with  his  brow  marked  in  Hindu 
fashion  and  with  jewelled  strings  tied  by  Brahmans 
on  his  wrist  to  represent  the  sacred  thread.  He 
was  not  above  charms  and  sortileges.  He  studied 
alchemy  as  well  as  astronomy,  and  is  reported  to  have 
exhibited  the  gold  he  had  professedly  transmuted, 
and  he  took  boundless  interest  in  the  tricks  and 
miracles  of  the  Hindu  ascetics  or  yogis,  as  well  as 
of  the  Muslim  fakirs. 

The  truth  is  that  Akbar  was  singularly  sensitive 
to  religious  impressions  of  every  kind,  and  that  his 
new  religion,  the  Din-i-Ilahi,  ‘ divine  faith,’  an  eclec- 
tic pantheism,  contained  elements  taken  from  very 


SUN  WORSHIP 


281 


diverse  faiths.  Whilst  overthrowing  most  of  the 
ceremonial  rules,  whether  of  Islam  or  of  Hinduism, 
and  making  almost  all  things  lawful  save  excess,'  he 
took  ideas  from  learned  Brahmans  as  well  as  Portu- 
guese missionaries  ; he  adopted  the  worship  of  the 


DARUGHA  PERSHAD’s  HOUSE,  FATHPUR-SIKRI. 

sun,  as  the  symbol  of  the  Creator,  and  in  gratitude 
for  the  blessings  of  light  and  fertilizing  warmth ; 

' For  example  wine  was  allowed  to  be  publicly  sold,  but  intoxi- 
cation was  punished  ; the  women  of  the  town  were  registered  and 
limited  to  the  quarter  known  as  Shaitanpur  or  Devilsbury,  where 
their  commerce  was  legalized  and  taxed  ; but  the  seduction  of  virgins 
was  severely  reprobated, 


282 


MEDIAlVAL  INDIA 


and  himself  daily  set  the  example  of  ‘adoring  Him 
the  Timeless  in  the  flame  that  measures  Time’; 
he  introduced  the  solar  }’ear  beginning  at  the  vernal 
equinox  as  the  starting  point  of  his  new  Ilahi  era; 
forbade  cow  eating,  in  deference  to  Indians,  and 
had  himself  ceremonially  weighed  in  Hindu  fashion 
on  both  his  solar  and  lunar  birthday ; instituted  the 
sacred  fire  adored  of  the  Parsis,  and  encouraged  the 
horn  sacrifice  of  the  Hindus  in  his  palace.  The  new 
cult  was  cordially  professed  only  by  a small  band  of 
courtiers  calling  themselves  ‘the  elect,’ and  includ- 
ing Faizi,  Abu-1-Fazl,  and  other  Persians,  chiefly 
poets,  and  one  Hindu,  Birbal,  but  the  rest  even  of  the 
court  remained  indifferent  when  not  hostile.  Some 
boldly  refused  to  join  the  new  faith,  but  the  most 
part  temporized  for  fear  of  losing  favour.  Of  course 
an  eclectic  religion  never  takes  hold  of  a people, 
and  Akbar’s  curiously  interesting  hotchpotch  of 
philosophy,  mysticism,  and  nature  worship  practi- 
cally died  with  him.  But  the  broad-minded  sym- 
pathy which  inspired  such  a vision  of  catholicity 
left  a lasting  impress  upon  a land  of  warring  creeds 
and  tribes,  and  for  a brief  while  created  a nation 
where  before  there  had  been  only  factions. 

With  the  promulgation  of  the  emperor’s  infalli- 
bility the  debates  in  the  Hall  of  Worship  came  to 
an  end ; the  leading  bigots  Makhdum  and  Abd- 
an-Nabi  were  sent  to  refresh  their  fanaticism  at 
Mekka;  and  the  pantheists  under  Abu-1-Fazl  and 
his  brother  had  their  brief  triumph.  Both  held  high 
rank,  but  Faizi  prized  his  office  of  poet  laureate 
above  any  political  power,  whilst  Abu-1-Fazl  became 


THE  MILLENNIUM 


283 


Diwan  or  Treasurer  of  the  Province  of  Delhi. 
These  two  brilliant  and  sympathetic  brothers  were 
now  Akbar’s  chief  intimates,  and  he  found  in  their 
devotion  more  than  compensation  for  the  solitary 
elevation  that  is  the  inevitable  fate  of  a reforming 
sovereign  born  centuries  before  the  acceptable  time. 
Probably  they  encouraged  him  in  the  fancies  and 
extravagances  which  somewhat  marred  his  later  life. 
One  of  these  fancies  was  a belief  that  the  religion 
of  Islam  would  not  survive  its  millennium,  and  that 
its  collapse  would  be  accompanied  by  the  advent  of 
the  Mahdi,  the  Lord  of  the  Age,  in  whom  Akbar 
was  easily  induced  to  recognize  himself.  He  ordered 
a ‘History  of  the  Millennium’  {Tarikh-i-Alfi)  to  be 
compiled  by  a company  of  scholars,  including  the 
reluctant  Badauni,  to  put  a seal,  as  it  were,  upon  an 
extinct  religion.  The  events  of  the  thousand  years 
of  doomed  Islam  were  related  from  a Shi'a  point  of 
view,  and  to  add  to  the  confusion  the  chronology 
was  reckoned  from  the  death  instead  of  from  the 
flight  (Hijra)  of  the  Prophet. 

This  was  an  example  of  Akbar’s  love  of  innova- 
tion, and  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  he  was  fond 
of  experiment  and  novelty  for  their  own  sake.  ‘All 
good  things  must  once  have  been  new,’  he  remarked, 
and  accordingly  he  tested  the  novel  habit  of  smoking 
tobacco,  which  was  first  introduced  in  India  in  his 
reign : but  soon  he  gave  it  up.  As  Dr.  Holden  said, 
‘He  experimented  in  all  departments,  from  religion 
to  metallurgy,’  and  some  of  his  changes  appear  to 
be  dictated  by  mere  whim,  or  restless  curiosity, 
rather  than  reason  and  judgment.  His  experimental 


284 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


spirit  was  displayed  in  the  way  he  endeavoured  to 
ascertain  the  natural  religion  of  the  untaught  child. 
He  separated  a score  of  hapless  babies  from  their 
mothers,  and  shut  them  up  in  a house  where  none 
might  speak  to  them,  in  order  to  see  what  faith  they 
would  evolve.  After  three  or  four  years  the  child- 
ren were  let  out,  and  they  came  forth — dumb! 
The  emperor’s  experiments  were  not  always  wise. 

Nevertheless  he  had  wise  counsellors,  and  it  was 
an  age  of  great  literary  abounding.  F'aizi  was  one 
of  the  most  exquisite  poets  India  has  ever  produced, 
and  Abu-l-Fazl’s  ‘ Book  of  Akbar’  {Akbarnama,  the 
third  volume  of  which  forms  the  celebrated  Ain-i- 
Akbari  or  ‘Acts  of  Akbar’),  published  in  1597,  will 
always  retain  its  fascination  as  a minute  record  of 
the  customs  and  institutions  of  the  greatest  age  of 
the  Moghul  empire.  As  one  of  its  translators  has 
said,'  ‘it  crystallizes  and  records  in  brief  for  all  time 
the  state  of  Hindu  learning,  and,  besides  its  statis- 
tical utility,  serves  as  an  admirable  treatise  of  refer- 
ence on  numerous  branches  of  Brahmanical  science 
and  on  the  manners,  beliefs,  traditions,  and  indige- 
nous lore,  which  for  the  most  part  still  retain  and 
will  long  continue  their  hold  on  the  popular  mind. 
Above  all  as  a register  of  the  fiscal  areas,  the  revenue 
settlements,  and  changes  introduced  at  various 
periods,  the  harvest  returns,  valuations  and  imposts 
throughout  the  provinces  of  the  empire,  its  origi- 
nality is  as  indisputable  as  its  surpassing  historical 
importance.’ 

Whilst  Akbar  was  busy  in  enlarging  the  bound- 
' Col.  II.  S.  Jarrett,  Ain,  iii,  p.  vii. 


DECCAN  CONQUESTS 


285 


aries  of  faith,  his  material  empire  had  not  stood  still. 
The  conquests  of  Gujarat  and  Bengal,  though  re- 
quiring more  than  one  repetition,  had  brought  the 
empire  to  the  normal  limits  of  Hindustan.  Kabul 
and  the  Afghan  country,  ruled  by  his  disloyal  brother 
Hakim,  had  repeatedly  revolted  ; Badakhshan  was 
finally  lost  in  1585,  and  the  merry  Raja  Birbal  fell  in 
a disastrous  attempt  to  coerce  the  wild  Yusufzais  in 
1586.  But  after  Hakim’s  death  Kabul  was  pacified, 
and  Kashmir  annexed  (1587) ; and  in  1594  Kandahar 
was  included  in  the  empire.  These  were  small 
changes;  but  more  important  conquests  were  at- 
tempted in  the  south.  Again  and  again  in  Indian 
history  we  find  in  the  Deccan  the  bane  of  Delhi 
kings.  Nature  never  intended  the  same  ruler  to 
govern  both  sides  of  the  Vindhya  mountains,  for 
people,  character,  and  geographical  conditions  are 
dissimilar.  Nevertheless  to  conquer  the  Deccan  has 
been  the  ambition  of  every  great  king  of  Delhi,  and 
the  attempt  has  always  brought  disaster.  Akbar 
was  not  immune  from  the  Deccan  fever,  but  it  seized 
him  late  in  life.  Up  to  the  last  decade  of  his  reign 
his  power  had  hardly  been  felt  south  of  the  Satpura 
range.  As  early  as  1562  indeed  he  had  taken  Bur- 
hanpur  and  made  the  rajas  of  Khandesh  and  Berar 
his  tributaries,  but  their  tribute  was  intermittent 
and  their  fealty  barely  nominal. 

A viceroy  of  the  Deccan  was  eventually  appointed 
to  consolidate  authority,  but  in  the  hands  of  the  em- 
peror’s son  Murad  and  his  successor  Prince  Daniyal — 
both  of  whom  died  of  drink  — the  ofifice  became 
contemptible.  Murad’s  incompetence  to  subdue 


286 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


open  rebellion  in  Berar  led  to  his  recall  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  Abu-1-Fazl  to  the  command  of  the 
army  which  in  1 599  resolutely  set  about  the  re- 
conquest of  the  Deccan.  Akbar  himself  arrived  at 
the  seat  of  war,  and  success  soon  followed.  Ahmad- 
nagar,  formerly  strenuously  defended  by  the  princess 
Chand  Bibi,  had  again  fallen  after  six  months’  siege, 
and  Asirgarh,  the  strongest  fortress  in  Khandesh, 
opened  its  gate  in  1600.  An  inscription  on  that 
glorious  gateway,  the  Baland  Darwaza  at  Fathpur, 
records  how  ‘ His  Majesty,  King  of  Kings,  Heaven 
of  the  court,  Shadow  of  God,  Jalal-ad-din  Moham- 
mad Akbar  Padishah  conquered  the  Kingdom  of  the 
South  and  Dandesh,  which  was  heretofore  Khan- 
desh, in  the  Ilahi  year  46,  which  is  the  year  of 
the  Hijra  loio.  Having  reached  Fathpur  he  went 
on  to  Agra.  Jesus  said  (on  whom  be  peace)  the 
Avorld  is  a bridge;  pass  over  it,  but  build  no  house 
there : he  who  hopeth  for  an  hour  may  hope  for 
eternity  : the  world  is  but  an  hour  — spend  it  in  de- 
votion : the  rest  is  unseen.’ 

In  these  last  sad  years  the  great  heart  of  the 
emperor  was  weighed  down  with  his  grief.  He  had 
lost  his  beloved  friend  the  poet  Faizi  in  1595,  two  of 
his  own  sonswere  sinking  to  theirdishonoureddeaths; 
the  eldest,  Salim,  was  little  better  and  had  shown 
flagrant  insubordination.  And  now  the  closest  of 
his  friends,  the  inspirer  of  many  of  his  best  thoughts 
and  acts,  was  to  be  sacrificed.  Prince  Salim,  jealous 
of  Abu-l-Fazl’s  influence  and  impatient  of  his  censure, 
caused  this  upright  and  faithful  servant  of  his  father  to 
be  murdered  on  his  way  back  from  the  Deccan  in  1602. 


akbar’s  tomb,  at  sikandka. 


288 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


It  was  the  last  and  crowning  sorrow,  and  Akbar 
never  recovered  from  the  shock.  The  quarrels  and 
intrigues  of  his  worthless  family  hastened  the  end. 
At  an  elephant  fight  there  was  a scene  of  jealous  dis- 
puting in  his  presence  ; the  weary  king  gave  way 
to  ungovernable  fury,  as  he  too  often  did  in  this 
stricken  period  of  his  decay,  and  he  was  led  away  sick 
unto  death.  Round  the  bed  of  the  dying  Akbar  the 
intrigues  for  the  succession  went  on  shamelessly,  but 
at  the  last  he  received  his  only  surviving  son  Salim, 
and  invested  him  with  the  sword  of  state.  He  died 
in  October,  1605,  the  noblest  king  that  ever  ruled  in 
India. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  GREAT  MOGHUL 
AND  EUROPEAN  TRAVELLERS 
1605-1627 

OWARDS  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  the 


curious  began  to  listen  to  rumours,  vague  indeed, 
but  impossible  to  be  ignored,  of  a new  and  singular 
Power  that  had  arisen  in  the  East.  Stories  were 
told  of  an  emperor  who  had  conquered  the  whole  of 
Hindustan,  and  was  ruling  his  vast  dominions  with 
extraordinary  wisdom.  Strange  tales  were  bruited 
about  of  his  toleration.  It  was  said  that  Christians 
were  sure  of  a welcome  at  his  court ; that  he  had 
even  taken  a Christian  to  wife.  Toleration  was  suf- 
ficiently out  of  tune  with  Tudor  England,  but  in  the 
barbarous  East  it  possessed  the  charm  of  the  wholly 
unexpected.  The  name  and  character  of  the  Great 
Moghul  became  the  common  talk.  In  a few  years 
Englishmen  came  to  see  him  face  to  face  as  no  Indian 
king  had  been  seen  by  Europeans  since  the  days  when 
Alexander  met  Porus  on  the  plains  of  the  Jehlam. 

Hitherto  India,  except  in  parts  of  the  coasts  of  the 
'9  289 


2Q0 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


peninsula,  had  been  practically  a terra  incognita. 
What  little  was  known  had  filtered  through  Portu- 
guese missionaries,  and  one  has  only  to  turn  ov'er  a 
few  pages  of  the  Travels  of  Europeans  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century  to  realize  how 
little  these  writers  were  prepared  for  the  sights  they 
saw.  They  found  a novel  and  almost  undreamt  of 
civilization,  possessing  elements  of  practical  states- 
manship and  sagacity  which  the  most  philosophic  of 
them  all,  the  French  physician  Bernier,  finds  worthy 
to  be  commended  to  the  serious  consideration  of  the 
minister  of  Louis  XIV.  They  met  with  a series  of 
spectacles,  ceremonies,  customs,  religions,  systems 
of  government,  wholly  unforeseen ; and  where  they 
expected  to  find  at  the  utmost  rude  and  vacuous 
pomp,  they  encountered  literature  and  learning, 
poetry  and  art,  and  a reasoned  theory  of  government, 
which,  in  spite  of  their  Western  prejudices,  fairly 
compelled  their  admiration.  With  all  this  they  dis- 
covered examples  enough  of  superstition  and  de- 
gradation, and  witnessed  scenes  of  savage  cruelty 
contrasted  with  barbaric  splendour;  yet  the  splen- 
dour and  the  degradation  were  such  as  belong  not  to 
uncivilized  races,  but  to  the  exuberance  of  a great 
empire. 

The  native  annalists  of  the  Moghul  period  are 
both  numerous  and  authoritative.  No  one  who  has 
studied  the  invaluable  series  of  volumes  in  which 
the  late  Sir  Henry  Elliot  and  Professor  Dowson  epi- 
tomized the  ‘ History  of  India  as  told  by  its  own 
Historians  ’ will  be  disposed  to  depreciate  the  import- 
ance of  the  Persian  chronicles  therein  extracted  with 


2gi 


2Q2 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


SO  much  skill  and  erudition.  But  the  native  writers 
have  serious  defects.  They  are  prone  to  panegyric, 
and  disposed  to  exaggerate  the  merits  of  reigning 
sovereigns  and  contemporary  magnates  with  the  tra- 
ditional obsequiency  of  the  oriental  author.  They 
are  apt  to  suppress  facts  which  tell  against  their  hero, 
and  it  is  rare  to  come  across  an  Indian  writer  with 
the  critical  or  historical  faculty.  Besides,  they  natur- 
ally assume  a familiarity  with  the  every-day  customs 
and  methods  of  the  age  in  India,  which  a Western 
reader  does  not  possess.  They  write  as  Indians  to 
Indians.  Had  we  to  depend  entirely  upon  them, 
our  insight  into  life  in  the  Moghul  empire  in  the 
seventeenth  century  would  be  shallow.  Fortunately 
we  have  other  witnesses.  Europeans  of  various 
nations,  qualified  in  many  respects  to  observe  with 
penetration  and  record  with  accuracy,  visited  India 
in  the  j^eriod  of  Moghul  supremacy,  and  their  observ- 
ations complete  and  correct  with  singular  minute- 
ness the  narratives  of  the  native  chroniclers. 

The  Fates  were  unusually  propitious  when  they 
ordained  that  the  Saturnian  Age  of  Moghul  power 
should  coincide  with  a new  epoch  in  European  in- 
tercourse with  the  East.  Up  to  the  closing  years 
of  the  sixteenth  century  one  European  nation  had 
held  the  monopoly  of  commerce  in  the  East  Indies. 
When  Vasco  da  Gama  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  and  landed  at  Calicut  in  1498,  the  trade  with 
India  and  the  Far  East  passed  into  a Portuguese 
channel.  The  old  routes  had  been  in  the  hands 
of  Mohammedan  traders,  who  shipped  their  goods 
by  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  Red  Sea,  and  so  over- 


EUROPEAN  TRAVELLERS 


293 


land  to  Syrian  and  Egyptian  ports,  whence  the 
merchandise  found  its  way  to  Europe  in  Venetian 
bottoms.  These  routes  were  tapped  at  their  source 
when  Portugal  acquired  the  command  of  the  Indian 
Ocean.  In  the  hands  of  such  heroes  as  Pacheco, 
Almeida,  and  Albuquerque,  the  control  of  Portugal 
over  the  whole  of  the  commerce  with  the  East 
Indies,  Spice  Islands,  and  China  was  assured.  The 
Arab  traders  and  Egyptian  navies  essayed  in  vain 
to  oust  the  invaders  of  their  ancient  privileges. 
From  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  China  the  ex- 
tended coast-line  was  armed  with  a chain  of  Por- 
tuguese fortresses,  and  no  ship  could  sail  without 
a Portuguese  passport. 

But  the  age  of  heroes  for  Portuguese  India  passed 
away,  and  there  were  still  no  signs  of  a consolidated 
Portuguese  empire  in  the  East.  Albuquerque  had 
dreamed  of  such  an  empire,  in  the  spirit  of  a 
Dupleix  or  a Clive,  and  he  had  exhausted  his  little 
nation  by  the  constant  drain  of  colonization.  His 
policy  had  not  been  continued,  and  an  empire  on 
Indian  soil  was  abandoned  in  favour  of  fortified 
trading  centres  supported  by  the  command  of  the 
Eastern  seas.  The  forts  remained,  but  no  attempt 
at  any  more  ambitious  settlement  was  made ; and 
should  the  command  of  the  seas  be  lost,  there  was 
nothing  to  save  the  commerce  of  Portugal  with  the 
East.  The  annexation  by  Spain  in  1580  was  the 
deathblow  to  Portuguese  enterprise  in  the  Indies; 
but  the  corruption  of  the  fidalgoes  themselves,  who 
found  their  Capua  in  the  tropical  verdure  of  Old 
Goa,  had  already  paved  the  way  to  ruin.  In  1597 


294 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  Dutch  appeared  in  the  Indies,  and  a few  years 
later  they  were  joined  by  the  English,  upon  the  in- 
corporation of  the  first  East  India  Company  on  the 
31st  of  December,  1600.  Even  so  early  as  Pyrard  de 
Laval’s  voyage  in  1607  the  Dutch  had  almost  de- 
stroyed the  Portuguese  monopoly  of  commerce  with 
the  Far  East;  and  as  soon  as  the  English  founded 
their  factory  at  Surat,  the  Indian  trade  began  to  be 
transferred  from  Portuguese  to  English  bottoms. 
The  naval  victories  of  Best  and  Downton  off  Surat 
and  in  Swally  Roads  decided  the  command  of  the 
sea,  and  the  Indian  trade  of  Portugal  practically 
came  to  an  end. 

The  opening  of  English  trade  with  India  was 
followed  by  the  arrival  in  the  Moghul  empire  of 
European  travellers,  and  the  publication  of  their  ex- 
periences. Two  sea-captains,  Hawkins  and  Herbert; 
Sir  Thomas  Roe,  the  ambassador;  two  clergymen, 
Terry  and  Ovington  ; Dr.  Fryer,  and  Hedges,  the 
Company’s  Agent  and  Governor,  form  a tolerably 
representative  group  of  Englishmen,  and  there  were 
many  more,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  recently  edited 
correspondence  of  the  East  India  Company’s 
factors.  France  sent  Pyrard,  who  did  not  get  be- 
yond the  Portuguese  settlements  in  India;  but  the 
Travels  of  Tavernier,  Thevenot,  and  Bernier  are 
among  our  best  authorities.  Pietro  della  ’Valle  was 
‘a  noble  Roman,’  Mandelslo  a gentleman  of  the 
court  of  the  Duke  of  Holstein,  Gemelli  Careri  a 
Neapolitan  doctor,  and  Manucci  a Venetian.  In 
such  a cloud  of  witnesses  of  varied  ranks,  pro- 
fessions, and  nationalities,  truth,  divested  of  insular 


WILLIAM  HA  WKINS 


295 


or  continental  prejudice,  may  surely  be  found.  The 
body  of  information  furnished  by  their  journals, 
letters,  and  travels,  is  indeed  of  priceless  value  to 
the  historian  of  India. 

The  visit  of  William  Hawkins  to  the  court  of  the 
Great  Moghul  at  Agra  was  a memorable  event  in 
the  history  of  British  intercourse  with  India.  He 
was  the  first  Englishman  ever  received  by  the  em- 
peror of  Hindustan  as  the  ofBcial  representative  of 
the  king  of  England,  and  he  obtained  from  the 
Great  Moghul  the  first  distinct  acknowledgment  of 
the  rights  of  British  commerce  in  India.  Hawkins 
sailed  with  Sir  Francis  Drake  on  his  voyage  to  the 
South  Seas  in  1577.  Thirty  years  later,  in  1607, 
he  commanded  the  ‘ Hector  ’ for  the  East  India 
Company  on  a voyage  to  Surat,  charged  with  letters 
and  presents  from  James  I ‘ to  the  princes  and 
governors  of  Cambaya,  on  account  of  his  experience 
and  language.’  He  arrived  at  the  bar  of  Surat, 
August  24,  1608,  and  soon  discovered  that  his  cre- 
dentials would  have  to  be  presented  to  a higher 
potentate  than  those  of  Cambay.  After  twenty 
days  he  obtained  leave  to  land  his  cargo,  and  was 
told  he  must  deliver  the  king’s  letter  to  the  Great 
Moghul  in  person.  Accordingly,  he  dismissed  his 
vessel  to  trade  with  a new  cargo  to  Bantam.  The 
Portuguese,  however,  were  not  yet  innocuous,  and 
their  ships,  captured  the  ‘Hector’  as  soon  as  she 
sailed.  The  Portuguese  captain-major  received 
Hawkins’s  remonstrances  with  contempt,  and  set 
to  ‘ vilely  abusing  his  Maiestie,  tearming  him  King 
of  Fishermen,  and  of  an  Island  of  no  import,  and  a 


296 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


for  his  Commission.’  To  these  ignominious 

expressions  a Portuguese  naval  officer  added  that 
‘ these  seas  belonged  unto  the  King  of  Portugall, 
and  none  ought  to  come  here  without  his  license.’ 
Such  was  the  reception  of  the  first  envoy  of  England 
at  the  port  of  the  Great  Moghul. 

Hawkins  soon  found  that  his  troubles  had  only 
begun.  Notwithstanding  Akbar’s  administrative  re- 
forms, it  is  clear  that  the  local  authorities  in  Gujarat 
were  oppressive  and  venal,  and  nothing  could  be 
done  without  a bribe.  The  governor  pillaged  the 
seaman’s  goods,  only  paying  ‘such  a price  as  his 
owne  barbarous  conscience  afforded.  . . . He 

came  to  my  house  three  times,  sweeping  me  cleane 
of  all  things  that  were  good.’  Matters  came  to 
such  a pass  that  the  traveller  had  to  defend  his 
house  by  force  of  arms,  for  Padre  Pineiro  offered 
the  governor  40,000  ‘ ryals  of  eight  ’ if  he  would 
deliver  up  Hawkins  to  the  Portuguese.  At  last  on 
February  i,  i6of,  he  received  a pass  for  his 
journey  to  Agra.  At  Burhanpur  he  saw  the  viceroy 
of  the  Deccan,  who  received  him  well,  talked  to  him 
in  Turkish  (a  language  with  which  Hawkins  was 
familiar)  for  three  hours,  accepted  of  course  a 
present,  and  invested  him  with  ‘ two  Clokes,  one 
of  fine  Woollen  and  another  of  Cloth  of  Gold ; 
giving  mee  his  most  kind  letter  of  favour  to  the 
King  which  avayled  much.  This  done,  he  imbraced 
me,  and  so  we  departed.’  A guard  of  Patans  hardly 
sufficed  to  save  the  traveller  from  several  attempts 
at  assassination,  or  what  he  believed  to  be  such  (for 
one  cannot  but  suspect  that  the  gallant  captain 


WILLIAM  HA  WHINS 


297 


made  the  most  of  his  perils);  but  at  length,  ‘after 
much  labour,  toyle,  and  many  dangers,’  he  arrived 
at  Agra  on  April  16,  1609. 

At  this  time  Akbar  had  been  dead  nearly  four 
years,  and  a very  different  personage  sat  on  the 
throne.  The  emperor  Salim,  entitled  Jahangir, 
‘ World-Grasper,’  formed  a striking  contrast  to  his 
father,  against  whom  he  had  more  than  once  broken 


GOLD  COINS  OF  JAHANGIR. 


into  open  insurrection.  Born  under  a superstitious 
spell,  named  after  a wonder-working  saint,  petted 
and  spoilt,  the  boy  grew  up  wilful,  indolent,  and 
self-indulgent,  too  lazy  and  indifferent  to  be  either 
actively  good  or  powerfully  evil.  He  had  insti- 
gated the  murder  of  Akbar’s  trusted  friend  and 
minister,  Abu-1-Fazl ; he  was  possessed  of  a vio- 
lent and  arbitrary  temper  ; and,  like  his  wretched 
brothers  Murad  and  Daniyal,  he  was  a.  notorious 
and  habitual  drunkard,  but  unlike  them  he  could 


298 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


control  himself  when  necessary.  His  image  may 
be  seen  depicted  on  his  coins,  wine-cup  in  hand, 
with  unblushing  effrontery : it  is  of  a piece  with 
the  astonishingly  simple  candour  of  his  own  Me- 
moirs. As  he  grew  older  he  toned  down  some- 
what, partly,  he  says,  from  a conviction  that  he 
was  injuring  his  health,  but  chiefly,  no  doubt,  under 
the  influence  of  his  beautiful  and  talented  wife  Nur- 
Jahan,  the  ‘ Light  of  the  World.’ 

When  he  ascended  the  throne  in  1605,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-seven,  his  character,  never  wanting  in  a 
certain  indolent  good-nature,  had  mellowed.  He 
had  become  less  savage  and  more  sober ; by  day  he 
was  the  picture  of  temperance,  at  night  he  became 
exceeding  ‘glorious.’  But  what  was  done  in  the 
evening  was  entirely  ignored  in  the  morning,  and 
any  noble  who  ventured  to  approach  the  daily  levees 
with  the  least  odour  of  wine  upon  him  was  destined 
to  certain  and  severe  punishment.  Jahangir  car- 
ried his  daylight  sobriety  so  far  as  even  to  publish 
an  edict  against  intemperance,  and  emulated  his 
far  more  contemptible  ‘brother’  James  of  Great 
ILitain  by  writing  a Persian  counterblast  against 
tobacco.  In  spite  of  his  vices,  which  his  fine  consti- 
tution supported  with  little  apparent  injury  almost 
to  his  si.xtieth  year,  he  was  no  fool ; he  possessed 
a shrewd  intelligence,  and  he  showed  his  good  sense 
in  carrying  on  the  system  of  government  and  prin- 
ciple of  toleration  inaugurated  by  Akbar.  He  was 
not  deficient  in  energy  when  war  was  afoot ; he  was 
essentially  just  when  his  passions  were  not  thwarted  ; 
and  he  cultivated  religious  toleration  with  the  easy- 


JAHANGIR 


299 


going  indifference  which  was  the  keynote  of  his 
character.  The  son  of  an  eclectic  philosopher  and  a 
Rajput  princess,  he  professed  himself  a Muslim, 
restored  the  Mohammedan  formulas  of  faith  which 
Akbar  had  abandoned  on  the  coinage,  and  revived 
the  Hijra  chronology,  whilst  preserving  for  regnal 
years  and  months  the  more  convenient  solar  system. 
But  he  followed  his  father  in  his  policy  towards  the 
Hindus,  and  was  equally  tolerant  towards  Christians. 
He  allowed  no  persecution  or  badges  of  heresy,  but 
welcomed  the  Jesuit  father  Corsi  to  his  court,  en- 
couraged artists  to  adorn  the  imperial  palaces  with 
pictures  and  statues  of  Christian  saints,  and  had 
two  of  his  nephews  baptized,  doubtless  for  his  own 
purpose.s.  He  could  be  magnanimous  and  forgiving, 
when  he  was  not  angry.  He  even  bestirred  himself 
to  redress  the  grievances  of  the  people, — witness  his 
specious  ‘ Institutes,’  and  had  a chain  and  bell 
attached  to  his  room  at  the  palace,  so  that  all  who 
would  appeal  to  him  could  ring  him  up  without  run- 
ning the  gauntlet  of  the  officials.  But  it  is  not 
on  record  that  anybody  was  hardy  enough  to  pull 
the  bell. 

William  Hawkins  was  the  first  to  set  on  record  a 
portrait  of  this  ‘ talented  drunkard,’  and  very  curious 
it  is.  It  was  a singular  situation  for  a bluff  sea- 
captain  to  find  himself,  in  an  unknown  land,  called 
upon  to  meet  a great  emperor  about  whom  absolutely 
nothing  was  known  in  England.  There  was  no- 
thing to  suggest  the  most  distant  dream  that  in  two 
centuries  and  a half  the  slight  introduction  Hawkins 
was  then  effecting  between  England  and  India  would 


300 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


culminate  in  the  sovereignty  of  a British  Queen  over 
the  whole  empire  where  the  ‘Light  of  the  World’ 
and  her  imperial  husband  then  reigned.  The  gift 
of  prophecy  would  have  considerably  added  to  the 
sailor’s  feeling  of  responsibility.  As  it  was,  he  was 
quickly  put  at  his  ease  by  the  complaisant  emperor. 
Jahangir  was  so  eager  to  see  this  messenger  from  a 
new  country  that  he  scarcely  gave  him  time  to  put 
on  his  ‘best  attyre’;  and  so  far  from  seeming  an- 
noyed at  the  poverty  of  his  offering, — for  the  gov- 
ernor of  Surat  had  left  him  nothing  but  cloth  for  a 
present, — the  emperor  ‘ with  a most  kind  and  smil- 
ing countenance  bade  me  most  heartily  welcome,’ 
reached  down  from  the  throne  to  receive  his  letter, 
and  having  read  it  by  the  aid  of  an  old  Portuguese 
Jesuit  (who  did  his  best  to  prejudice  him)  promised 
‘ by  God,  that  all  what  the  King  had  there  written 
he  would  grant  and  allow  with  all  his  heart,  and 
more.’  Jahangir  then  took  his  visitor  into  the  private 
audience  chamber,  where  they  had  a long  conversa- 
tion, and,  on  leaving,  Hawkins  was  commanded  to 
return  every  day.  The  language  of  the  court  was 
Persian,  though  everyone  could  speak  Hindustani; 
but  Jahangir  and  several  of  his  ministers  were  also 
familiar  with  Turkish,  the  native  tongue  of  Babar 
and  his  descendants,  and  this  was  the  language  in 
which  the  emperor  conversed  with  Hawkins.  ‘ Both 
night  and  day,  his  delight  was  very  much  to  talk 
with  mee,  both  of  the  Affaires  of  England  and  other 
Countries.’ 

The  two  evidently  suited  each  other  well.  Haw- 
kins would  have  felt  constrained  in  the  presence  of 


JAHANGIR 


301 


Akbar ; but  it  was  impossible  to  regard  his  son  — 
at  least  of  an  evening  — in  any  other  light  than  as  a 
jovial  and  somewhat  tipsy  boon-fellow.  Hawkins 
for  his  part  was  a simple  honest  sailor,  a little  in- 
clined to  bluster,  but  just  the  man  to  take  the 


PALACE  OF  JAHANGIR  AT  AGRA. 


emperor  in  the  right  way,  and  not  at  all  apt  to  be 
shocked  at  an  extra  allowance  of  grog.  The  result 
of  the  harmony  between  the  two  was  that  Hawkins 
acquired  a footing  in  the  court  more  intimate  than 
was  ever  afterwards  enjoyed  by  any  European,  and 
held  it  for  years  in  spite  of  the  strenuous  opposition 


302 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


of  the  Jesuits.  At  one  time  Jahangir  granted  every- 
thing that  the  Englishman  asked,  ‘swearing  by  his 
Father’s  soule,  that  if  I would  remeyne  with  him, 
he  would  grant  me  articles  for  our  Factorie  to  my 
heart’s  desire,  and  would  never  go  from  his  word.’ 
He  talked  of  sending  an  ambassador  to  England, 
and  tried  to  induce  Hawkins  to  ma’Ke  India  his 
home,  promising  to  make  him  a mansabdar  or  officer 
of  400  horse,  with  an  allowance  of  ^^"3200  a year. 
He  even  admitted  him  within  the  red  rails  before 
the  throne,  where  only  the  greatest  nobles  stood, 
and  saluted  him  by  the  lofty  title  of  ‘ Inglis  Khan  ’ : 
all  of  which  mightily  delighted  the  honest  captain. 

No  wonder  ‘the  Portugalls  were  like  madde 
Dogges.’  The  English  khan  was  universally  envied  ; 
but  he  had  to  work  hard  for  his  glory.  Jahangir 
gave  him  little  liberty.  Half  of  every  twenty-four 
hours  he  served  the  emperor,  by  day  and  night,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  marry  an  Armenian  — a ‘ white 
Mayden  out  of  his  Palace’, — to  cook  his  meals  for 
him,  for  fear  of  poison  being  mixed  with  his  food. 
His  position  was  moreover  extremely  precarious. 
The  commission  for  an  English  factory  at  Surat  was 
first  granted,  and  then,  under  pressure  from  the 
Portuguese  viceroy,  withdrawn.  ‘Let  the  English 
come  no  more,’  said  the  emperor,  weary  of  the 
squabble.  But  Hawkins  knew  the  way  to  mend  the 
matter,  and  on  his  giving  Jahangir  a fresh  present, 
this  order  was  rescinded : ‘ so  this  time  againe  I was 
afloate.’  Then  the  Portuguese  plied  the  emperor 
with  bribes,  and  Hawkins  fell  out  of  favour.  Nur- 
Jahan  reversed  this  state  of  things  for  the  moment, 


JAHANGIR 


303 


but  Hawkins  found  it  impossible  to  pin  the  emperor 
to  his  promises,  and  retired  from  court  in  disgust, 
Nov.  2,  1611.  He  sailed  for  Bantam  in  the  follow- 
ing January  in  Sir  Henry  Middleton’s  fleet,  and  died 
a couple  of  years  later  on  his  voyage  home. 

Hawkins’s  intimacy  with  the  Great  Moghul  gave 
him  unrivalled  opportunities  for  observation ; but 
he  was  not  an  educated  or  penetrating  observer.  A 
good  deal  of  his  information  ' is  obviously  based 
upon  hearsay,  but  there  is  a large  amount  of  first- 
hand evidence  which  no  historian  of  Mohammedan 
India  can  afford  to  neglect.  He  describes  the  life- 
peers,  or  ‘men  of  Livings  or  Lordships’  as  he  calls 
them,  in  their  several  ranks,  from  those  ‘ of  the  Fame 
of  12,000  Horsemen’  down  to  those  of  20  horse,  and 
says  there  were  altogether  3000  in  receipt  of  such 
grants.  The  army  raised  by  these  mansabdars 
amounted  to  300,000  horsemen,  which  were  main- 
tained out  of  the  income  allowed  to  their  rank.  On 
their  death,  all  their  property  went  to  the  emperor, 
and  ‘all  the  lands  belong  to  him,’  but  ‘commonly 
he  dealeth  well’  with  their  children.  The  king’s 
yearly  income  he  places  at  fifty  crors  of  rupees,  or 
over  fifty  millions  of  pounds.  The  royal  treasury 
contained  an  infinity  of  gold  plate  and  jewels,  in- 
cluding 500  drinking  cups,  some  of  which  were 
made  of  ‘ one  piece  of  Ballace  Ruby.’  The  ser- 
vants, gardeners,  grooms,  and  others,  attending  upon 
the  court,  he  estimates  at  36,000.  There  were 
also  12,000  elephants,  of  which  300  were  reserved 

' Narrative  of  Occurrents,  etc.,  in  The  Hawkins  Voyages,  ed. 
Sir  Clements  Markham  (Hakluyt  Society,  1878). 


304 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


exclusively  for  the  emperor’s  use.  The  daily  ex- 
penses of  the  court  were  50,000  rupees,  besides 
30,000  for  the  harim ; or  together,  £(^ooo,  which 
comes  to  three  and  a quarter  millions  a year. 

He  describes  the  emperor  as  far  from  popular  with 
his  subjects,  ‘ who  stand  greatly  in  fear  of  him,’  and 
ascribes  this  partly  to  his  preference  for  Moham- 
medans over  Rajputs  for  posts  of  honour  and  com- 
mand, and  partly  to  his  innate  cruelty.  Jahangir 
took  pleasure  in  seeing  men  executed  or  torn  to 
pieces  by  his  elephants,  and  the  dangerous  sport  of 
elephant  fights  was  his  favourite  spectacle  on  five 
days  in  the  week.  He  was  said  to  have  killed  his 
secretary  with  his  own  hand  on  mere  suspicion,  and 
flogged  a man  almost  to  death  for  breaking  a dish. 
He  delighted  in  combats  between  men  and  animals, 
and  made  an  unarmed  man  fight  with  a lion  till  he 
was  torn  to  shreds.  At  last  the  keepers  contrived 
to  tame  fifteen  young  lions,  who  played  before  the 
king,  ‘ frisking  betweene  men’s  legs,’  and  with  these 
animals  as  opponents  the  combats  became  compara- 
tively bloodless.  All  this  cruelty,  added  to  a rapa- 
cious and  severe  government,  produced  disaffection 
among  his  subjects.  Thieves  and  outlaws  infested 
the  roads,  and  many  rebellions  broke  out. 

The  daily  life  of  the  emperor  Jahangir  was  scarcely 
edifying.  ‘About  the  breake  of  day,  he  is  at  his 
Beades,  with  his  face  turned  to  the  westward  in  a 
private  faire  room,’  in  which  is  ‘the  picture  of  Our 
Lady  and  Christ,  graven  in  stone.’  Then  he  shows 
himself  to  the  people,  who  flock  to  bid  him  good- 
morrow.  Two  hours  of  sleep  ensue,  then  dinner. 


THE  TALENTED  DRUNKARD 


305 


after  which  the  emperor  retires  to  his  women.  At 
noon  he  again  holds  public  levee  till  three,  and 
witnesses  the  elephant  fights  and  other  sports.  The 
nobles  at  Agra  all  come  and  pay  him  homage,  and 
he  hears  all  causes  and  complaints.  He  then  says 
his  prayers,  and  has  a meal  of  four  or  five  sorts  of 
well-dressed  meats,  of  which  ‘ he  eateth  a bit  to  stay 
his  stomach,  drinking  once  of  his  stronge  drinke. 
Then  he  cometh  forth  into  a private  roome,  where 
none  can  come  but  such  as  himself  nominateth  (for 
two  yeeres  I was  one  of  his  attendants  here).  In 
this  place  he  drinketh  other  five  cupfuls,  which  is 
the  portion  that  the  Physicians  alot  him.  This  done 
he  eateth  opium,  and  then  he  ariseth,  and  being  in 
the  height  of  his  drinke,  he  layeth  him  down  to 
sleep,  every  man  departing  to  his  own  home.  And 
after  he  h^ith  slept  two  houres  they  awake  him,  and 
bring  his  supper  to  him,  at  which  time  he  is  not  able 
to  feed  himselfe ; but  it  is  thrust  into  his  mouth  by 
others,  and  this  is  about  one  of  the  clock ; and  then 
he  sleepeth  the  rest  of  the  night.’ 

Such  was  Akbar’s  successor,  and  such  the  sovereign 
to  whom  Sir  Thomas  Roe  presented  his  credentials  as 
ambassador  of  the  king  of  England  in  January,  1615. 
Roe  had  come  to  complete  what  Hawkins  had  only 
partly  succeeded  in  effecting.  The  English  agents 
and  traders  were  still  in  a humiliating  situation,  sub- 
ject to  all  kinds  of  indignities,  possessing  no  recog- 
nized or  valid  rights,  and  obliged  to  sue  and  bribe  for 
such  slight  facilities  as  they  could  win.  Their  chiefs, 
the  agents  of  the  East  India  Company,  had  brought 

scorn  upon  their  nation  by ‘kotowing’  to  the  Moghul 
20 


3o6 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


dignitaries,  cringing  to  insult,  asserting  no  trace 
of  dignity  ; and  had  even  ‘ suffered  blowes  of  the 
porters,  base  Peons,  and  beene  thrust  out  by  them 
with  much  scorne  by  head  and  shoulders  without 
seeking  satisfaction.’  Englishmen  were  flouted, 
robbed,  arrested,  even  whipped  in  the  streets.  It 
was  evident  that  a different  manner  of  man  was 
needed  to  retrieve  the  indignity  done  to  our  name 
and  honour.  Sir  Thomas  Roe  was  invited  by  the 
directors,  after  much  consideration  and  debate,  to 
accept  the  task,  and  the  choice  was  approved  by 
King  James,  whose  royal  commission  duly  consti- 
tuted, appointed,  ordained,  and  deputed  ‘ the  said 
Sir  Thomas  Rowe  our  true  and  undoubted  Attorney, 
Procurator,  Legate,  and  Ambassador  ’ to  that  ‘ high 
and  mighty  Monarch,  the  Create  Mogoar,  King  of 
the  Orientall  Indyes,  of  Condahy,  of  Chismer,  and  of 
Corason.’ 

Roe  was  in  every  way  an  excellent  choice.  He 
combined  the  business  capacity  of  the  great  mer- 
chant with  the  urbanity  and  address  of  the  courtier. 
His  grandfather  was  lord  mayor  of  London,  and  the 
blood  of  the  Greshams  ran  in  his  veins ; but  he  was 
entered  at  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  belonged  to 
the  Middle  Temple,  had  been  esquire  of  the  body 
to  Queen  Bess  herself,  and  was  on  terms  of  affec- 
tionate intimacy  with  Prince  Henry  and  his  sister 
Elizabeth,  the  future  ‘Rose  of  Bohemia.’  Not  yet 
thirty-five,  he  had  led  a voyage  of  discovery  to 
Guiana  and  explored  the  Orinoco;  he  had  disputed 
in  Latin  with  Dutch  divines ; he  had  even  sat  for 
Tamworth  in  the  ‘Addled  Parliament.’  The  East 


SIR  THOMAS  ROE 


307 


India  directors  described  him  as  ‘ of  a pregnant 
understanding,  well  spoken,  learned,  industrious,  and 
of  a comelie  personage,’  and  the  latest  and  best  editor 
of  his  Journal'  justly  adds  that  ‘his  command- 
ing presence  and  dignified  bearing  were  useful 
qualifications  for  a mission  to  an  Eastern  court, 
while  in  the  still  more  important  matters  of  judg- 
ment and  tact  he  was  equally  well  equipped. 
Sprung  from  a noted  City  family,  he  combined  the 
shrewdness,  readiness  of  resource,  and  business 
ability  which  had  raised  his  ancestors  to  fortune, 
with  the  culture  and  experience  obtained  by  a varied 
training  in  most  favourable  circumstances.’ 

More  than  all  this,  he  was  a true  Elizabethan, 
with  the  gallant  bravery,  the  passionate  devotion  to 
king  and  country,  the  great-hearted  fanaticism  of 
his  age.  It  was  not  the  merchant’s  son,  but  the 
Elizabethan  gentleman,  who  faced  the  Moghul 
prince  as  an  equ'al,  and  told  an  insulting  prime 
minister  that  ‘ if  his  greatness  were  no  more  than 
his  manners  he  durst  not  use  me  soe ; that  I was  an 
Ambassador  from  a mighty  and  free  Prince,  and  in 
that  quality  his  better.’  When  the  governor  of 
Surat  tried  slyly  to  carry  out  the  odious  practice, 
hitherto  tamely  allowed,  of  seaching  the  persons  of 
British  subjects,  in  spite  of  Roe’s  claiming  the  abso- 
lute exemption  of  an  ambassador’s  suite,  there  was  a 
spirited  scene  : ‘ Master  Wallis  breaking  out  came 
up  after  me  and  tould  me  this  treachery  ; whereon 

' The  Embassy  of  Sir  Thomas  Roe  to  the  Court  of  the  Great 
Aloghul,  Edited  from  contemporary  records  by  W.  H.  Foster 
(Hakluyt  Society,  1899). 


3o8 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


I turnd  my  horse  and  with  all  speed  rode  backe  to 
them,  I confess  too  angry.  When  I came  up,  I la3’d 
m>'  hand  on  my  sword,  and  my  men  breake  through 
and  came  about  me.  Then  I asked  what  they  en- 
tended  bj"  soe  base  treacherj’ : I was  free  landed, 
and  I would  die  soe,  and  if  any  of  them  durst  touch 
any  belonging  to  me,  I bade  him  speake  and  shew 
himselfe.  Then  they  desired  me  not  to  take  >’t  in 
ill  part : it  was  done  in  Frendship.  I called  for  a 
Case  of  Pistolls,  and  hanging  them  at  my  saddle  I 
replj'ed  those  were  my  Frendes,  in  them  I would 
trust.  ...  It  was  a Custome  to  be  usd  to 
rouges  and  theeves  and  not  to  free  men:  I was 
resolved  not  to  return  to  my  Country  with  shame; 
I would  rather  d\’e  there  with  Honor.’ 

Roe  was  certainlj^  no  meek-tempered  man.  His 
Journal  is  full  of  similar  scenes.  But  he  did  well  to  be 
angry,  and  his  defiant  and  punctilious  assertion  of  his 
dignity,  as  the  mirror  of  his  sovereign,  his  insistence 
upon  every’  necessary  point  of  courtesy,  and  his 
stately’  refusal  to  unbend  a jot  of  his  proud  bearing, 
had  their  due  effect.  When  he  came  to  India,  the 
English  were  very  nearly  on  the  point  of  being 
driven  out  of  even  their  slight  hold  at  Surat ; the  in- 
fluence of  the  Portuguese  at  court  threatened  to  oust 
the  scanty  merchant  colony  which,  in  deep  humilia- 
tion, was  unconsciously  lay’ing  the  foundations  of 
empire;  the  Moghul  authorities  were  accustomed  to 
treat  the  English  as  beggars  to  be  spurned.  All  this 
was  changed  before  he  left.  Despite  the  opposition 
of  the  prince,  afterwards  Shah-Jahan,  who  almost 
ruled  his  father,  and  who,  as  governor  of  Surat,  had 


SIR  THOMAS  ROE 


309 


the  means  of  making  his  enmity  felt;  in  spite  of  the 
intrigues  of  the  empress,  the  prime  minister,  and  the 
Jesuits,  Roe  not  merely  asserted  his  countrymen’s 
rights,  but  won  a series  of  important  diplomatic 
victories.  He  compelled  the  court  favourite  to  re- 
fund his  illegal  exactions,  and  ‘recovered  all  bribes, 
extortions,  debts  made  and  taken  before  my  tyme 
till  this  day,  or  at  least  an  honourable  composition.’ 
His  firmness  and  courage,  combined  with  wary  man- 
agement, were  too  much  for  the  cleverness  of  Father 
Corsi,  and  the  Portuguese  almost  lost  their  influence. 
The  emperor  and  his  son  were  men  fully  capable  of 
measuring  and  admiring  Roe’s  manly  qualities;  and 
his  independence  and  dogged  persistence,  supported 
by  natural  dignity  and  courtliness,  won  from  the 
Moghul  authorities  as  much  advantage  as  could  at 
that  time  be  expected. 

The  ambassador  tried  in  vain  to  obtain  a general 
treaty,  embodying  articles  resembling  the  capitula- 
tions granted  in  Turkey.  Experience  taught  him 
that  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  any  such  concession, 
and  the  Moghul  emperor  was  too  ignorant  of  foreign 
kingdoms  to  measure  India  with  them.  ‘ Neyther 
will  this  overgrowne  Eliphant,’  .said  Roe,  ‘ descend  to 
Article  or  bynde  himselfe  reciprocally  to  any  Prince 
upon  terms  of  Equality,  but  only  by  way  of  favour 
admitt  our  stay.’  ‘You  can  never  expect  to  trade 
here  upon  Capitulations  that  shall  be  permanent. 
Wee  must  serve  the  tyme.’  All  he  could  obtain  were 
firmans,  or  orders  to  the  local  authorities,  sanctioning 
the  English  trade  at  Surat  upon  reasonably  satisfac- 
tory terms.  ‘ You  shall  be  sure  of  as  much  priviledge 


310 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


as  any  stranger,’  he  promised,  and  he  kept  his  word. 
The  English  factory  at  Surat  was  set  on  a sufificiently 
stable  basis,  and  recognized  officially  by  emperor  and 
prince-governor. 

Indeed  Roe  was  disposed  to  judge  favourably  of 
the  Moghul  authorities,  considering  their  ignorance 
and^the  uncertainty  of  their  official  position.  ‘All 
the  Government  dependes  upon  the  present  will,’  he 
wrote  in  i6i8,  ‘whose  appetite  only  governs  the 
lordes  of  the  kingdome  ; but  their  J ustice  is  generallie 
good  to  strangers ; they  are  not  rigorous,  except  in 
scearching  for  thinges  to  please  [/.  e.,  presents  and 
luxuries],  and  what  trouble  we  have  is  for  hope  of 
them,  and  by  our  owne  disorders.’  He  marked  the 
turbulence  of  the  English  crews  and  even  of  some  of 
the  factors,  and  warned  the  Company  against  a policy 
of  aggression  ; ‘ A war  and  trafique  are  incompati- 

ble. By  my  consent,  you  shall  no  way  engage  your- 
selves but  at  sea,  wher  you  are  like  to  gayne  as 
often  as  to  loose.  It  is  the  beggering  of  the  Portugall, 
notwithstanding  his  many  rich  residences  and  terri- 
toryes,  that  hee  kee23es  souldiers  that  spendes  it;  yet 
his  garrisons  are  meane.  He  never  profited  by  the 
Indyes  since  hee  defended  them.  Observe  this 
well.  It  hath  beene  also  the  error  of  the  Dutch,  who 
seeke  Plantation  heere  by  the  sword.  They  have  a 
woonderfull  stocke,  they  proule  in  all  Places,  they 
Posses  some  of  the  best ; yet  ther  dead  Payes  con- 
sume all  the  gayne.  Lett  this  bee  received  as  a rule 
that  if  you  will  Profitt,  seeke  it  at  Sea,  and  in  quiett 
trade  ; for  without  controversy  it  is  an  error  to  affect 
Garrisons  and  Land  warrs  in  India.’ 


S/J^  THOMAS  ROE 


31I 

Roe’s  Journal  is  perhaps  better  known  than  any 
similar  work  on  India;  but  it  is  extremely  limited 
in  its  scope.  It  deals  almost  exclusively  with  the 
court  and  the  ambassador’s  audiences  with  the  em- 
peror, and  the  political  intrigues  of  the  time,  but  of 
the  state  of  the  country  it  reveals  little.  As  a record 


TOMB  OF  NUR-JAHAN’S  FATHER  AT  AGRA. 

of  court  life,  however,  it  forms  an  admirable  com- 
plement to  Hawkins’s  narrative.  Sir  Thomas  was 
admitted  to  the  king’s  privacy  almost  with  the  free- 
dom which  the  seaman  enjoyed.  Indeed  Jahangir 
seemed  to  be  unable  to  distinguish  between  an 
ambassador  and  a buccaneer,  and  entertained  his 


312 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


excellency  with  a familiar  joviality  which  severely 
tried  the  patience  of  the  grave  diplomatist.  He 
made  him  sneeze  with  his  ‘ strong  drink,’  to  the  de- 
light of  the  assembled  court,  and  then  fell  asleep 
in  his  cups,  when  the  candles  were  immediately 
‘ popped  out,’  and  Sir  Thomas  ‘ groppt  ’ his  way  out 
in  the  dark.  Jahangir  especially  piqued  himself  on 
his  taste  for  art ; pictures  and  statues,  even  of  the 
Madonna,  adorned  his  palace,  and  in  the  hall  of 
audience  were  displayed  pictures  of  ‘the  King  of 
England,  the  Queen,  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  the 
Countesse  of  Somerset  and  Salisbury,  and  of  a Cit- 
izen’s wife  of  London  ; below  them,  another  of  Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  Governour  of  the  East-India  Compa- 
nie.’  When  Roe  showed  him  an  English  picture, 
he  immediately  had  it  copied  by  Indian  artists,  so 
that  the  owner  could  not  tell  which  was  the  origi- 
nal, whereat  the  Great  Moghul  ‘was  very  merry  and 
jo5'full,  and  craked  like  a Northerne  man.’  In  his 
usual  communicative  mood  of  an  evening,  ‘ with 
many  passages  of  jests,  mirth,  and  bragges  concern- 
ing the  Arts  of  his  Country,  hee  fell  to  aske  me 
questions,  how  often  I drank  a day,  and  how  much, 
and  what?  what  Beere  was?  how  made?  and  whether 
I could  make  it  here?  In  all  which  I satisfied  his 
great  demands  of  State.’ 

The  ambassador  must  have  found  the  privy  council 
room  of  an  evening  anything  but  a suitable  place  for 
business.  One  night  he  was  summoned  thither  after 
he  had  got  to  bed,  merely  to  show  the  Great  Moghul 
a portrait.  ‘ When  I came  in  I found  him  sitting 
cross-legd  on  a little  Throne,  all  clad  in  Diamonds, 


WEIGHING  THE  EMPEROR 


313 


Pearls,  and  Rubies,  before  him  a table  of  Gold,  in  it 
about  fiftie  pieces  of  Gold  plate,  set  all  with  stones, 
his  Nobilitie  about  him  in  their  best  equipage,  whom 
he  commanded  to  drinke  froliquely,  several  wines 
standing  by  in  great  flagons.  ...  So  drinking, 
and  commanding  others,  his  Majestic  and  all  his 
Lords  became  the  finest  men  I ever  saw,  of  a thou- 
sand humours.’  At  other  times  Jahangir  waxed 
solemn  and  sentimental;  ‘The  good  King  fell  to 
dispute  of  the  Lawes  of  Moses,  Jesus  and  Mahomet, 
and  in  drinke  was  so  kinde,  that  he  turned  to  me 
and  said:  I am  a king,  you  shall  be  welcome: 
Christians,  Moores,  Jewes,  he  medled  not  with 
their  faith ; they  came  all  in  love,  and  he  would 
protect  them  from  wrong,  they  lived  under  his 
safety,  and  none  should  oppresse  them  ; and  this 
often  repeated,  but  in  extreame  drunkenesse,  he  fell 
to  weeping  and  to  divers  passions,  and  so  kept  us 
till  midnight.’  On  another  occasion  the  ambassador 
found  him  sharing  the  coarse  meal  of  ‘ a filthy  beggar  ’ 
— a holy  fakir,  no  doubt  — ‘taking  him  up  in  his 
armes,  which  no  cleanly  body  durst,  imbracing  him, 
and  three  times  laying  his  hand  on  his  heart,  calling 
him  father’  : for  superstition  was  a potent  factor  in 
this  singular  specimen  of  royalty. 

Among  the  court  festivals  which  Sir  Thomas  Roe 
witnessed  none  was  more  curious  than  the  process  of 
weighing  the  Great  Moghul.  ‘The  first  of  Septem- 
ber was  the  King’s  Birth-day,  and  the  solemnitie  of 
his  weighing,  to  which  I went,  and  was  carryed  into 
a very  large  and  beautiful  Garden,  the  square  within 
all  water,  on  the  sides  flowres  and  trees,  in  the  midst 


3H 


MEDIAiVAL  INDIA 


a Pinacle,  where  was  prepared  the  scales,  being  hung 
in  large  tressels,  and  a crosse  beame  plated  on  with 
Gold  thinne:  the  scales  of  massie  Gold,  the  borders 
set  with  small  stones.  Rubies  and  Turkeys,  the 
Chaines  of  Gold  large  and  massie,  but  strengthened 
with  silke  Cords.  Here  attended  the  Nobilitie,  all 
sitting  about  it  on  Carpets  until  the  King  came  ; who 
at  last  appeared  clothed  or  rather  loden  with  Dia- 
monds, Rubies,  Pearles,  and  other  precious  vanities, 
so  great,  so  glorious;  his  Sword,  Target,  Throne  to 
rest  on,  correspondent ; his  head,  necke,  breast,  armes, 
above  the  elbows,  at  the  wrists,  his  fingers  every  one, 
with  at  least  two  or  three  Rings ; fettered  with 
chaines,  or  dyalled  Diamonds ; Rubies  as  great  as 
Wal-nuts,  some  greater;  and  Pearles  such  as  mine 
eyes  were  amazed  at.  Suddenly  he  entered  into  the 
scales,  sate  like  a woman  on  his  legges,  and  there 
was  put  in  against  him  many  bagges  to  fit  his  weight, 
which  were  changed  six  times,  and  they  say  was 
silver,  and  that  I understood  his  weight  to  be  nine 
thousand  rupias,  which  are  almost  one  thousand 
pounds  sterling:  after  with  Gold  and  Jewels,  and 
precious  stones,  but  I saw  none,  it  being  in  bagges 
might  be  Pibles ; then  against  Cloth  of  Gold,  Silk, 
Stuffes,  Linen,  Spices,  and  all  sorts  of  goods,  but  I 
must  believe  for  they  were  in  sardles.  Lastly  against 
Meale,  Butter,  Come,  which  is  said  to  be  given  to 
the  Banian.’ 

One  of  the  lights  thrown  by  Roe’s  Journal  on  the 
administration  of  the  Moghul  Empire  is  contained 
in  his  report  of  a conversation  which  he  held  with 
the  ‘ Viceroy  of  Patan,’  which  shows  the  profits 


SIR  THOMAS  KOR 


315 


derived  by  the  mansabdars  or  life-peers  from  their 
appanages : ‘ As  for  his  Government  of  Patan  onely, 
he  gave  the  King  eleven  Lackes  of  Rupias  (the  Rupia 
sterling  is  two  shillings  two  pence),  all  other  profits 
were  his,  wherein  he  had  Regall  authoritie  to  take 
what  he  list,  which  was  esteemed  at  five  thousand 
horse,  the  pay  of  every  one  at  two  hundred  Rupias 
by  the  yeare,  whereof  he  kept  fifteene  hundred,  and 
was  allowed  the  Surplusse  as  dead  pay:  besides  the 
King  gave  him  a Pension  of  one  thousand  Rupias  a 
day,  and  some  smaller  governments.  Yet  he  assured 
me  there  were  divers  had  double  his  entertainment, 
and  about  twenty  equall.’  This  being  translated 
means  that  the  governor  of  Patna  was  an  officer  or 
mansabdar  of  the  rank  of  5,000  horsemen,  nominal, 
but  was  only  expected  to  maintain  a force  of  1,500, 
which  cost  him  300,000  rupees  a year.  But  he  drew 
from  the  imperial  treasury  at  the  rate  of  5,000  horse, 
or  1,000,000  rupees,  thus  gaining  700,000  profit,  be- 
sides whatever  he  could  sweat  out  of  the  taxes  of  the 
province  which  was  farmed  out  to  him,  beyond  the 
1,100,000  rupees  he  had  to  pay  as  rent  to  the  treasury. 
In  other  words,  this  official  drew  a fixed  salary  of 
nearly  ;{(8o,oOQ  a year,  besides  what  he  could  make 
out  of  the  taxes,  and  without  reckoning  the  pension 
of  1,000  rupees  a day,  which  is  probably  a confused 
repetition  of  the  300,000  allowed  for  the  troops.  It 
was  at  any  rate  four  times  the  pay  of  a British  vice- 
roy of  India. 

Roe  had  no  easy  time,  what  with  the  intrigues  of 
the  court,  the  vacillations  of  the  emperor,  and  the 
hostility  of  the  Dutch,  for  whom  he  always  nourished 


3i6 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


an  inveterate  dislike.  ‘ They  wrong  you  in  all  Parts, 
and  grow  to  insuffrable  insolencies  . . . andvsevs 
woorse  than  any  braue  enemie  would  or  any  other 
but  vnthanckfull  drunckards  that  wee  haue  releeued 
from  Cheese  and  Cabbage,  or  rather  from  a Chayne 
with  bread  and  water.’  In  his  solitude  and  harass- 
ments  his  great  consolation  was  the  sense  of  duty 
ungrudgingly  performed,  and  he  could  write  to  his 
employers  proudly,  yet  W’ithout  boasting,  ‘ My  sincer- 
ity toward  you  in  all  Actions  is  without  spott ; my 
Neglect  of  Priuat  Gayne  is  without  example,  and  my 
frugalitye  beyond  your  expectation.  I was  neuer  an 
ill  husband  of  my  Credit  nor  any  trust  committed  to 
mee.  My  Patrimoniall  vnthriftines  only  I feele  and 
repent  ...  I will  bragg  of  no  Industrie  nor 
successe.  Judge  mee  by  my  Actions,  Not  by  the 
fauour  of  an  Infidell  King,  with  whom  yet  I stand  on 
such  outward  showes  of  Creditt  as  Neuer  any  stranger 
did.’  His  ‘ frugalitye  ’ was  indeed  extraordinary. 
He  kept  up  the  embassy  on  about  ^250  a year;  his 
own  salary  was  only  ;^6oo  ; and  though  the  company 
received  him  with  twelve  coaches  at  Tower  Wharf, 
and  voted  him  i!' 1,500  for  his  services,  he  returned  a 
poor  man,  and  w’as  thankful  to  accept  another  mis- 
sion from  the  king,  though  it  involved  a second  exile, 
to  Constantinople.  In  those  days  it  was  an  excep- 
tion for  a man  in  his  position  to  refuse,  as  unworthy 
of  his  high  office,  the  many  opportunities  for  making 
money  in  India.  But  Thomas  Roe  was  fashioned  in 
a refined  and  exalted  ideal  of  conduct,  and  his  high 
principles  and  noble  character  stand  clearly  revealed 
in  his  writings. 


THE  EMPRESS  NUR-JAHAN 


317 


We  shall  obtain  no  more  familiar  glimpses  of  the 
jocund  court  of  Jahangir  after  Sir  Thomas  Roe’s  de- 
parture in  1618.  The  ambassador’s  chaplain,  Edward 
Terry,  in  his  ‘ Voyage  to  the  East  Indies,’  adds 
little  ; nor  is  much  to  be  learnt  about  the  court,  or 
even  the  country  and  government,  from  the  Travels 
of  Pietro  della  Valle,  who  visited  Surat,  Ahmadabad, 
and  Cambay  in  1623,  and  then  turned  south  to  Goa. 
He  gives  an  amusing  account  of  the  sumptuous  way 
of  life  among  the  English  merchants  of  Surat,  but 
he  has  little  to  tell  of  the  Moghul  empire  and  he  did 


COIN  OF  JAHANGIR  AND  NUR-JAHAN. 
Struck  at  Agra,  A.  H.  1037  (A.D.  1627-8.) 


not  see  the  capital.  But  of  the  famous  empress,  the 
‘Seal  of  Womankind  ’ (Muhr-i-Nisa),  Nur-Jahan — or 
as  she  was  then  called  Nur-Mahall,  he  has  this  notice  : 
‘ He  hath  one  Wife,  or  Queen,  whom  he  esteems  and 
favours  above  all  other  Women  ; and  his  whole  Em- 
pire is  govern’d  at  this  day  by  her  counsel.  . . . She 
was  born  in  India,  but  of  Persian  Race.  . . . 

She  was  formerly  Wife  in  India  to  another  Persian 
Captain,  who  served  the  Moghul  too ; but  after  her 
Husband’s  death,  a fair  opportunity  being  offer’d,  as 
it  falls  out  many  times  to  some  handsome  young 
Widows  I know  not  how,  Sciah  Selim  had  notice 


318 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


of  her,  and  became  in  love  with  her.  ...  At 
length  he  determin’d  to  receive  her  for  his  lawful 
Wife  above  all  the  rest.  And  as  such  she  commands 
and  governs  at  this  day  in  the  King’s  Haram  with 
supream  authority;  having  cunningly  remov’d  out 
of  the  Haram,  either  by  marriage,  or  other  hand- 
some ways,  all  the  other  Women  who  might  give  her 
any  jealousie ; and  having  also  in  the  Court  made 
many  alterations  by  deposing  and  displacing  almost 
all  the  old  Captains  and  Officers,  and  by  advancing 
to  dignities  other  new  ones  of  her  own  creatures, 
and  particularly  those  of  her  blood  and  alliance. 
This  Queen  is  call’d  at  this  day  Nurmahal,  which 
signifies  Light  of  the  Palace.’ 

‘ By  degrees,’  says  Mohammad  Hadi,  the  continuer 
of  Jahangir’s  Memoirs,  ‘ she  became,  in  all  but  name, 
undisputed  sovereign  of  the  empire,  and  the  king 
himself  became  a tool  in  her  hands.  He  used  to  say 
that  Nur-Jahan  Begam  has  been  selected,  and  is  wise 
enough,  to  conduct  the  matters  of  state,  and  that 
he  wanted  only  a bottle  of  wine  and  a piece  of  meat 
to  keep  himself  merry.  Nur-Jahan  won  golden 
opinions  from  all  people.  She  was  liberal  and 
just  to  all  who  begged  her  support.  She  was  an 
asylum  for  all  sufferers,  and  helpless  girls  were 
married  at  the  expense  of  her  private  purse.  She 
must  have  portioned  above  five  hundred  girls  in  her 
lifetime,  and  thousands  were  grateful  for  her 
generosity.’ 

So  great  was  the  influence  of  this  Persian  princess 
that  Jahangir  joined  her  name  with  his  own  on  the 
coinage,  a conjunction  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 


ZODIACAL  GOLD  MOHRS  OF  JAHANGIR. 


319 


320 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Mohammedan  money;  though  the  popular  story  of 
her  having  issued  the  famous  Zodiacal  Mohrs,  when 
the  emperor  allowed  her  the  privilege  of  mint-mistress 
for  a single  day,  is  without  foundation.  Her  un- 
limited dominion  over  her  husband,  who  loved  her 
with  a supreme  devotion,  is  the  more  remarkable 
since  she  was  no  longer  young  when  he  married  her 
in  i6io,  and  Indian  widows  of  thirty-four  are  usually 
widows  indeed.  This  gifted  woman  aided  by  her 
subtle  brother,  Asaf  Khan,  practically  ruled  the 
empire  during  the  greater  part  of  Jahangir’s  reign, 
much  to  his  satisfaction;  but  although  at  first  her 
influence  kept  him  straight  and  benefited  the  empire, 
her  overweening  power,  covetousness,  and  unscru- 
pulous favouritism  aroused  bitter  jealousies  ; and  to 
the  resulting  intrigues  were  due  the  troubles  that 
darkened  the  closing  days  of  that  self-indulgent 
emperor,  the  weakening  of  the  old  martial  spirit  of 
the  Moghuls,  the  corruption  and  cupidity  of  the 
court,  and  the  rebellion  of  Jahangir’s  son.  His  reign 
.so  far  had  been  successful  and  curiously  little  dis- 
turbed. There  had  been  hostilities  with  the  rana  of 
Udaipur,  which  were  ended  in  1614  by  the  military 
genius  of  Prince  Khurram,  the  future  Shah-Jahan; 
and,  besides  temporary  revolts  in  Bengal  and  else- 
where, there  was  the  constant  difficulty  of  maintain- 
ing a hold  upon  the  Deccan  provinces,  where  there 
was  hard  fighting  with  Malik  Amber,  the  able  vezir 
of  the  Nizam  Shah.'  The  boundaries  of  the  empire 
remained  much  where  they  had  been  under  Akbar, 
though  Kandahar  was  lost  to  the  Persian  Shah  in 

' See  below  p.  344. 


PRINCE  KHUSRU 


321 


1622  and  not  recovered  till  it  was  betrayed  to  Shah- 
Jahan  in  1637.  On  the  whole  the  years  had  been 
tranquil  until  the  question  of  the  succession  excited 
rival  interests. 

Jahangir’s  eldest  son,  Prince  Khusru,  who  seems 
to  have  been  always  on  bad  terms  with  his  father, 
had  openly  rebelled  in  the  early  days  of  the  reign, 
and  on  his  defeat  was  condemned  to  a lifelong  but 
not  severe  captivity,  whilst  many  of  his  followers 
were  impaled  by  his  infuriated  father  in  the  presence 
of  the  youth  whom  they  had  followed  to  the  death. 
Khusru  had  by  some  quality  or  other  acquired  extra- 
ordinary popularity  — as  Roe’s  Journal  repeatedly 
indicates, — and  people  compassionated  his  dreary 
fate,  and  even  rose  in  open  rebellion  in  his  cause, 
with  the  like  enthusiasm  that  others  in  Britain 
showed  for  Marie  Stuart  or  Prince  Charlie.  He 
was  believed  to  have  been  blinded  by  his  father,  but 
Della  Valle  explains  that  though  the  eyelids  were 
sewn  up  the  eyes  were  still  uninjured  when  Jahangir 
caused  them  to  be  unripped,  ‘ so  that  he  was  not 
blinded  but  saw  again  and  it  was  only  a temporal 
penance.’  Sir  Thomas  Roe  met  him  and  found  him 
an  interesting  mystery.  The  second  son,  Khurram, 
reckoned  him  an  exceedingly  dangerous  factor  in 
politics.  What  actually  happened  will  never  be 
known  ; but  when  Prince  Khurram  went  to  restore 
order  in  the  Deccan  in  1621  he  insisted  on  taking  his 
elder  brother  with  him,  and  there  the  unfortunate 
Khusru  died, — of  a fever,  as  was  said,  but  such 
fevers  sometimes  happen  very  opportunely  in  the 
East. 


21 


322 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Khurram,  or  Shah-Jahan  as  he  w-as  already  styled, 
now  became  more  clearly  marked  out  than  ever  as 
the  future  emperor.  He  was  the  best  general  of  his 
time,  and  had  overcome  the  Rajputs  of  Udaipur  and 
the  man}^-headed  foe  in  the  Deccan.  He  was  an 
able  administrator  and  a cool  calculating  statesman. 
But  he  was  intensely  unpopular  in  those  early  days, 
however  well  he  overcame  the  prejudice  afterwards. 
Sir  Thomas  Roe  found  him  cold  and  repellant, 
though  always  stately  and  magnificent.  ‘ I never 
saw  so  settled  a countenance,’  he  wrote,  ‘ nor  any 
man  keepe  so  constant  a gravitie,  never  smiling,  nor 
in  face  shewing  any  respect  or  difference  of  mien.’ 
There  was  nothing  in  common  between  Jahangir 
and  this  capable  self-contained  son  whom  the  father, 
depressed  by  his  gravity,  plaintively  e.xhorted  to 
take  a little  wine,  ‘ not  to  excess,  but  to  promote 
good  spirits’;  and  to  Nur-Jahan,  who  had  for- 
merly supported  him,  he  became  hateful,  perhaps 
the  more  so  since  he  had  won  her  brother  Asaf’s 
favour  by  marrying  his  daughter,  the  lady  of  the 
Taj.  Her  aim  was  to  induce  herhusband  to  name  as 
successor  his  youngest  son  (by  another  wife)  Shah- 
riyar,  a handsome  fool,  who  had  married  her  daughter 
by  her  first  marriage,  and  so  to  keep  the  dreaded  Shah- 
Jahan  out  of  power.  Jahangir  however  favoured  his 
third  son  Parviz,  who  could  drink  level  with  him- 
self. The  result  was  civil  war.  Shah-Jahan,  no 
longer  impeded  by  an  elder  brother’s  claim,  took 
the  field  against  his  father,  but  was  defeated,  and 
after  an  attempt  at  independent  sovereignty  in 
Bihar  and  Bengal  (1624),  and  a final  resort  to  the 


INTRIGUES  FOR  THE  SUCCESSION 


323 


protection  of  his  old  enemy  Malik  Amber  in  the 
Deccan,  the  rebel  prince  made  his  submission,  sur- 
rendered his  few  remaining  forts,  and  sent  two  of 
his  sons,  Dara  and  Aurangzib,  as  hostages  to  Agra. 

Shah-Jahan  was  now  apparently  helpless,  and  the 
imperious  queen  next  sought  to  gain  the  command 
of  the  army.  The  general,  Mahabat  Khan,  however, 
was  not  to  be  won  over,  and  seeing  that  his  own 
command,  even  his  life,  was  at  stake,  he  took  the 
bold  course  of  seizing  the  person  of  the  emperor 
whilst  he  was  separated  from  his  guard  when  on  the 
point  of  crossing  the  Behat  (Hydaspes)  on  his  way 
to  subdue  a rising  at  Kabul  (1626).  The  empress, 
far  from  daunted  by  this  unexpected  stratagem,  lost 
not  a whit  of  her  splendid  courage.  She  secretly 
escaped  to  the  imperial  guard,  and  marshalled  her 
husband’s  troops  against  the  division  of  his  cap- 
tor,  riding  at  the  head  of  the  army  on  her  tall 
elephant,  armed  with  bow  and  arrows.  Mahabat’s 
Rajputs  had  burned  the  bridge,  but  the  empress 
was  among  the  first  to  cross  the  ford  and  engage 
the  enemy  on  the  other  side.  ‘A  scene  of  uni- 
versal tumult  and  confusion  ensued  : the  ford  was 
choked  with  horses  and  elephants;  some  fell  and 
were  trampled  under  foot  ; others  sank  in  the  pools 
and  were  unable  to  regain  the  shore  ; and  numbers 
plunged  into  the  river  and  ran  the  chance  of  making 
good  their  passage  or  being  swept  away  by  the 
stream.  The  most  furious  assault  was  directed  on 
Nur-Jahan  : her  elephant  was  surrounded  by  a crowd 
of  Rajputs;  her  guards  were  overpowered  and  cut 
down  at  its  feet ; balls  and  arrows  fell  thick  round 


324 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


her  hovvdah,  and  one  of  the  latter  wounded  the  in- 
fant daughter  of  Shahriyar,  who  was  seated  in  her 
lap.  At  length  her  driver  was  killed ; and  her 
elephant,  having  received  a cut  on  the  proboscis, 
dashed  into  the  river  and  soon  sank  in  deep  water 
and  was  carried  down  the  stream.  After  several 
plunges  he  swam  out  and  reached  the  shore,  where 
Nur-Jahan  was  surrounded  by  her  women,  who 
came  shrieking  and  lamenting,  and  found  her  how- 
dah  stained  with  blood,  and  herself  busy  in  extract- 
ing the  arrow  and  binding  up  the  wound  of  the 
infant.' 

Open  war  had  failed,  and  the  brave  woman  re- 
sorted to  other  methods.  She  boldly  entered  the 
camp  and  for  months  shared  her  husband’s  captivity. 
By  degrees  her  arts  lulled  to  rest  the  watchful  sus- 
picions of  the  general ; she  won  over  some  of  the 
leading  officers  to  her  side;  and  finally  one  day  the 
emperor  found  himself  at  liberty  with  his  faithful 
queen  beside  him  and  the  army  at  his  command. 
Mahabat  Khan  fled  to  Shah-Jahan.  The  victory 
came  too  late,  however,  for  Jahangir  had  scarcely 
restored  order  at  Kabul  and  paid  a visit  to  the  happy 
vale  of  Kashmir,  his  favourite  summer  resort,  when 
he  was  seized  by  his  mortal  sickness,  and  died  be- 
fore he  had  attained  his  sixtieth  year  (Oct.,  1627). 
There  was  little  use  now  in  opposing  Shah-Jahan, 
who  had  Mahabat  Khan  at  his  side  and  the  full  sup- 
port  of  the  army.  The  empress’s  brother,  the  min- 
ister Asaf  Khan,  joined  the  rising  power,  which  he 
had  always  favoured,  and  Prince  Shahriyar,  whg 
' Elphinstone,  Hist,  of  India  (1866  ed.),  570. 


325  TOMB  OF  JAHANGIK  AT  l.AHORE. 


326 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


never  had  the  smallest  title  to  the  throne,  was  de- 
feated, imprisoned,  and  killed.  A temporary  stop- 
gap, Davvar  Bakhsh,  son  of  Khusru,  vanished  as  soon 
as  Shah-Jahan  appeared  from  his  distant  exile  in 
Sind.  The  great  empress  proudly  retired  into  private 
life,  wearing  thenceforward  the  white  robe  of  mourn- 
ing for  her  queer,  loving  husband.  She  was  held  in 
honour,  and  drew  a handsome  pension  ; but  she 
appeared  no  more  in  public,  and  maintained  her 
rigid  seclusion  until  in  1646  she  was  laid  in  her 
grave  close  beside  the  tomb  of  Jahangir  at  Lahore. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
SHAH-JAHAN 
THE  MAGNIFICENT 

1628-1658 

Like  his  father,  Prince  Khurram,  who  ascended 
the  throne  as  Shah-Jahan  in  January,  1628, 
was  the  son  of  a Rajput  princess,  a daughter  of  the 
rana  of  Marwar,  and  had  more  Indian  than  Moghul 
blood  in  his  veins.  From  what  has  been  recorded 
of  his  previous  history,  as  one  ‘ flattered  by  some, 
envied  by  others,  loved  by  none,’  in  Sir  Thomas 
Roe’s  words,  one  is  prepared  to  find  a haughty,  re- 
served man,  wrapped  in  political  intrigues,  person- 
ally indifferent  to  creeds  and  scruples,  and  disposed 
to  favour  his  mother’s  race.  In  every  one  of  these 
respects  Shah-Jahan  refutes  prophecy.  All  his 
former  cold  severity  seems  to  have  melted  when 
once  he  had  made  a clean  sweep  of  his  rivals,  and 
after  his  accession  the  new  emperor  was  the  most 
accessible  though  the  most  stately  of  monarchs.  He 
discontinued  the  obnoxious  ceremonial  of  prostra- 
tion before  the  throne,  upon  which  Jahangir  had  laid 


327 


328 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


great  stress  ; and  his  infailing  kindness  and  benevo- 
lence, joined  to  a gracious  publicity  and  display, 
endeared  him  to  the  people.  He  was  the  most 
popular  of  all  the  great  Moghuls,  though  not  spe- 
cially the  idol  of  the  Hindus.  There  was  a tinge 
of  intolerance  in  his  perfectly  orthodox,  if  not  very 
ardent,  profession  of  Sunni  Mohammedanism,  and 
this  slightly  bigoted  twist  was  encouraged  by  his 
ever-beloved  wife,  Arjumand  Banu,  known  as  Mum- 
taz-i-Mahall,  ‘ the  elect  of  the  palace,’  the  mother  of 
his  fourteen  children,  whose  exquisite  monument, 
the  Taj  at  Agra,  still  witnesses  to  her  husband’s  de- 
votion. Good  Muslim  as  he  was,  Shah-Jahan  was  a 
man  of  sound  judgment  and  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  he  was  the  last  king  to  dream  of  let- 
ting religion  over-ride  statesmanship.  Many  of  his 
generals  were  Hindus,  and  his  great  minister,  Sa‘d- 
Allah,  though  converted,  was  a Hindu  by  birth. 
Jesuit  missionaries  were  still  welcomed  at  Agra, 
where  their  tombstones  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
‘ Padre  Santo,’  and  where,  as  Bernier  records,  they 
had  a large  and  ‘very  fair’  church,  with  a ‘ great 
steeple  ’ and  bell,  which  ‘ might  be  heard  all  over 
the  town  ’ in  spite  of  the  Muslim’s  prejudice  against 
‘ the  devil’s  musical  instrument.” 

The  result  of  all  this  popularity  and  good  states- 
manship — for  in  his  father-in-law  Asaf  Khan,  Ma- 
habat  (f  1634),  and  Ali  Mardan  the  emperor  had 

' This  toleration  did  not  extend  to  the  Portuguese  of  Hugh,  whose 
piracy  led  to  their  destruction  in  1631,  save  such  as  were  sent 
prisoners  to  Agra,  where  the  church  was  then  partly  destroyed  in 
the  temporary  excitement  of  fanaticism. 


SHAH-JAHAN 


329 


counsellors  as  wise  and  upright  even  as  Sa‘d-Allah 
— was  a reign  of  extraordinary  prosperity.  The 
French  traveller  Tavernier  writes  of  the  gracious 
rule  of  the  emperor  that  it  resembled  ‘ that  of  a 
father  over  his  children,’  and  testifies  to  the  firm 
administration  of  justice  and  the  universal  sense  of 
security.  A Hindu  contemporary  almost  outshines 
the  Muslim  and  Christian  eulogists  in  extolling  the 
equity  of  the  government,  the  wise  and  generous 
treatment  of  the  cultivators,  the  probity  of  the  law- 
courts,  and  the  honesty  of  the  exchequer  personally 
audited  by  this  magnificent  paragon  of  monarchs. 
There  is,  no  doubt,  exaggeration  in  these  pane- 
gyrics. Shah-Jahan  knew  how  to  tickle  the  imagin- 
ations of  his  subjects  by  gorgeous  pageants  and 
profuse  expenditure,  and  he  could  be  good-natured 
and  generous  when  it  did  not  interfere  with  his 
personal  comfort.  But  he  was  too  shrewd  a man 
to  pamper  the  people,  and  his  expensive  tastes 
demanded  so  much  money  that  there  must  have 
been  severe  pressure  on  the  taxpayers,  who  natur- 
ally had  no  voice  in  revising  the  eulogies  of  con- 
temporary chroniclers. 

That  such  was  the  case  may  be  gathered  from 
the  observations  of  Mandelslo,  who  ranks  quite  as 
high,  as  an  intelligent  traveller,  as  the  more  famous 
Della  Valle.  He  was  a native  of  Mecklenburg,  and 
was  educated  as  a page  at  the  court  of  the  Duke  of 
Holstein.  When  this  potentate  in  1633  despatched 
an  embassy  to  ‘ the  Great  Duke  of  Muscovy  and 
the  King  of  Persia,’  Albert  Mandelslo,  then  only 
nineteen,  begged  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  the 


330 


MEDIEVAL  JNDIA 


ambassadors  and  explore  the  distant  countries  to 
which  they  were  accredited.  He  was  attached  to  the 
embassy  as  a ‘ Gentleman  of  the  Chamber,’  and  was 
even  granted  leave  to  pursue  his  travels  further, 
when  the  ambassadors’  business  was  accomplished. 
Accordingly  when  their  Excellencies  the  Sieurs 
Crusius  and  Brugman  departed  from  Ispahan  in  the 
beginning  of  1638,  Mandelslo  pushed  on  to  India  by 
way  of  Persepolis,  Shiraz,  and  Gombroon,  where  he 
took  sail  in  an  English  ship,  the  ‘ Swan,’  three  hun- 
dred tons,  twenty-four  guns.  Master  Honywood, 
bound  for  Surat,  and  after  nineteen  days’  voyage 
made  the  port  on  the  25th  of  April.  Mandelslo’s 
travels  in  India — he  went  on  afterwards  to  China 
and  Japan  — were  chiefly  limited  to  the  usual  stay 
at  Surat,  and  a journey  through  Ahmadabad  to 
Agra  and  back  by  Lahore  to  Surat.  Out  of  the 
eight  months  of  his  sojourn  in  the  Moghul  empire, 
five  were  spent  at  Surat,  while  his  stay  at  Agra  was 
une.xpectedly  brought  to  an  end,  apparently  before 
he  had  been  a month  at  the  capital. 

Like  Della  Valle,  he  was  much  impressed  with  the 
Dutch  and  English  factories  at  Surat.  ‘ They  have 
there  their  Lodges,  their  Store-houses,  their  Presi- 
dents, their  Merchants,  and  their  Secretaries,  and 
indeed  have  made  it  one  of  the  most  eminent  Cities 
for  Trafifick  of  all  the  East.’  This  was  just  thirty 
years  after  Hawkins  had  vainly  attempted  to  save 
one  cargo  from  the  clutches  of  the  Moghul  governor, 
and  another  from  the  Portuguese.  The  new  com- 
panies had  evidently  lost  no  time  in  strengthening 
their  position.  ‘ The  English  particularly  have  made 


MANDELSLO 


331 


it  the  main  place  of  all  their  Trading  into  the  Indies, 
and  have  established  there  a President,  to  whom  the 
Secretaries  of  all  the  other  Factories  are  oblig’d  to 
give  an  accompt.  He  manages  affairs  with  the  as- 
sistance of  20  or  24  Merchants  and  Officers,  and 
hath  under  his  superintendency  the  Factory  of  Agra, 
where  they  have  a Secretary  accompanied  by  six 
persons;  that  of  Ispahan,  where  they  have  a Secre- 
tary and  seven  or  eight  other  Merchants;  that  of 
Mesulipatan,  with  fifteen  ; that  of  Cambay,  with 
foure  : that  of  Amadabat,  with  six ; that  of  Brodra 
and  Broitscheia,  with  foure ; and  that  of  Dabul  with 
two  persons ; who  are  all  oblig’d  to  come  once  a 
year  to  Suratta,  there  to  give  an  accompt  of  their 
Administration  to  the  President.’ 

Mandelslo  was  treated  by  both  Dutch  and  English 
with  the  princely  hospitality  which  has  ever  been  a 
tradition  in  India.  He  was  met  by  a coach  drawn 
by  two  white  oxen,  and  heartily  welcomed  by  the 
president,  who  begged  him  to  stay  with  him  five  or 
six  months,  and  entertained  him  royally.  ‘ At  din- 
ner he  kept  a great  Table  of  about  fifteen  or  sixteen 
dishes  of  meat,  besides  the  Desert.’  The  favourite 
rendezvous  for  the  English  colony  was  the  presi- 
dent’s ‘ great  open  Gallery,’  where  his  friends  en- 
joyed the  sea-breezes  of  an  evening.  There  was  a 
fair  garden  outside  the  city  where  they  all  resorted 
on  Sundays  after  sermon,  and  where  on  week-days 
Mandelslo  made  a small  fortune  by  winning  pistol- 
matches,  ‘ shooting  at  Butts.’  Sometimes  they  made 
a night  of  it  over  some  bottles  of  sack;  but  Mandel- 
slo was  an  exceedingly  virtuous  young  man,  and 


332 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


spoke  no  English, — two  effectual  bars  to  excessive 
conviviality. 

When  he  went  into  the  interior,  the  same  hos- 
pitable reception  awaited  him,  not  only  at  the  hands 
of  the  European  agents,  but  also  of  the  IMohamme- 
dan  merchants.  Short  as  his  stay  was,  the  assistance 
of  his  hosts  enabled  him  to  make  the  most  of  his 
opportunities,  and  his  native  gift  of  observation 
stood  him  in  good  stead.  A knowledge  of  Turkish 
appears  to  have  served  him  well,  as  it  did  Hawkins. 
As  he  goes  towards  Agra  we  pick  up  hints  which 
help  us  to  understand  the  state  of  the  provincial 
government  under  Shah-Jahan.  In  spite  of  the 
testimony  of  other  writers,  travelling  seems  to  have 
been  anything  but  safe  in  Gujarat  in  1638.  The 
Rajputs  — a kind  of  ‘ High- way  men  or  Tories,’ 
Mandelslo  calls  them  — infested  the  roads,  and  our 
traveller  had  to  journey  in  company  with  large  cara- 
vans, and  even  then  had  occasion  to  fight  for  his 
life.  He  describes  the  governor  of  Ahmadabad  as  a 
‘judicious,  understanding  man,  but  hasty,  and  so 
rigorous,  that  his  government  inclin’d  somewhat 
to  cruelty.’  The  ‘ somewhat  ’ appears  inadequate, 
when  Mandelslo  goes  on  to  describe  how,  when 
some  dancing  girls  refused  to  come  and  perform  at 
his  bidding,  this  ‘ hasty  ’ governor  instantly  had  their 
heads  cut  off  in  the  presence  of  a company  which 
included  the  English  and  Dutch  factors.  ‘ Assure 
yourselves.  Gentlemen,’  said  he,  ‘ that  if  I should  not 
take  this  course,  I should  not  long  be  Governour  of 
Amadabat.’  ‘There  is  no  King  in  Europe,’  adds 
Mandelslo,  ‘ hath  so  noble  a Court  as  the  Governour 


AGRA 


333 


of  Guzaratta,  nor  any  that  appears  in  public  with 
greater  magnificence.  In  his  palace  he  is  served  as 
a King.  He  makes  his  advantages  of  all  the  Levies 
and  Impositions  which  are  made  in  his  Government, 
so  that  in  a short  time  he  becomes  Master  of  in- 
credible wealth.’ 

Mandelslo  describes  Agra  in  his  day  as  the  noblest 
city  of  Hindustan,  and  the  one  in  which  the  Moghul 
most  delighted  ; but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
New  Delhi  was  not  then  built.  He  says  it  was  as 
much  as  a horseman  could  do  to  ride  round  the  city 
in  a day.  ‘ Its  Streets  are  fair  and  spacious,  and 
there  are  some  of  them  Vaulted,  which  are  above  a 
quarter  of  a League  in  length,  where  the  Merchants 
and  Tradesmen  have  their  Shops,  distinguished  by 
their  Trades  and  the  Merchandizes  which  are  there 
sold;  every  Trade  and  every  Merchant  having  a 
particular  Street  and  Quarter  assigned  him.’  There 
were  eighty  caravanserais  for  foreign  merchants, 
‘ most  of  them  three  Stories  high,  with  very  noble 
Lodgings,  Store-houses,  Vaults,  and  Stables  belong- 
ing to  them.’  He  counted  seventy  great  mosques, 
and  estimates  the  number  of  public  baths  ‘ or  Hot- 
Houses  ’ at  above  8oo,  the  tax  on  which  brought  in  a 
considerable  revenue  to  the  state.  In  and  outside 
the  city  he  saw  numerous  palaces  of  the  rajas  and 
lords,  and  chiefest  of  all  the  imperial  palace,  forti- 
fied with  a moat  and  drawbridge.  The  treasure 
there  jealously  guarded  was  estimated  on  credible 
authority  at  above  fifteen  hundred  millions  of  crowns, 
or  over 300,000,000.  ‘This  wealth,’  he  e.xplains,  ‘ is 
more  and  more  augmented  every  day,  not  so  much 


334 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


out  of  the  ordinary  Revenue  coming  in  from  the 
great  Kingdoms  he  hath  (in  regard  that  as  his  Or- 
dinary Expence  abates  not  anything  of  his  Treas- 
ure ; so  is  it  seldome  seen  that  he  increases  it,  by 
ought  remaining  at  the  years  end  of  his  Revenue)  as 
by  the  presents  which  are  made  him,  and  the  Es- 
cheats falling  to  him  at  the  death  of  great  Lords  and 
Favourites,  who  make  the  Moghul  Heir  to  what  they 
had  gotten  by  his  favour;  insomuch  that  the  Child- 
ren have  no  hope  to  enjoy  ought  of  their  Fathers 
Estates,  either  Reall  or  Personall.  For  the  Moghul’s 
Authority  is  such,  and  his  Power  so  absolute,  that 
the  Estates  of  all  his  Subjects  are  at  his  disposal. 

. There  is  no  hereditary  Dignity  in  all  his 
country.  That  of  Rasgi  or  Raja,  which  he  bestows 
rather  upon  the  accompt  of  Merit,  than  Birth,  is 
Personall,  as  that  of  Chan  in  Persia,  and  is  not  de- 
riv’d to  Posterity,  but  by  the  recommendation  of 
Vertue.  Not  that  it  is  to  be  inferr’d  hence,  that  the 
Moghul  does  exclude  from  Charges  the  Children  of 
such  as  have  done  him  good  service  ; but  he  gives 
them  lesser  charges  by  which  they  may  advance 
themselves  to  the  Chiefest  in  the  Kingdome,  if 
either  an  extraordinary  Vertue  or  the  Princes  Favour 
call  them  thereto.’ 

Mandelslo  describes  the  daily  levees  of  the  em- 
peror, his  appearance  in  the  gallerj^  at  sunrise,  when 
the  nobility  ‘ salute  him  with  their  Patschach  Salam- 
met,’  at  noon,  when  he  comes  to  see  the  beasts  fight, 
and  at  sunset ; but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was 
personally  received  at  court.  Agra  was  a very 
densely  inhabited  city  at  this  time,  ‘ of  such  extent 


THE  MOGHUL  ARMY 


335 


and  so  populous,  that  were  there  a necessity,  there 
might  be  rais’d  out  of  it  two  hundred  thousand  men 
able  to  bear  Armes.  There  is  no  Nation  in  all  the 
East  but  hath  some  commerce  or  other  at  this  place  ; 
but  most  of  the  inhabitants  are  Mahumetans,  and 
all  the  Merchandizes  that  are  imported  into  it,  or 
exported  out  of  it,  pay  ten  in  the  hundred.’  The 
muster  of  the  Moghul  army  has  often  been  a matter 
of  dispute,  but  Mandelslo  gives  a detailed  account 
of  the  force  commanded  by  Shah-Jahan  in  1630, 
which  numbered  no  less  than  144,500  horse,  besides 
elephants,  camels,  etc.  They  were  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows,  javelins  or  pikes,  scimetars,  and  daggers, 
with  a shield  for  defence.  ‘ They  have  no  fire  Armes 
with  wheeles,  nor  yet  Fire-locks  but  their  Infantry 
are  expert  enough  at  the  Musquet,’  a statement 
distinctly  contradicted  by  Bernier,  who  says  the 
musketeers  were  horribly  afraid  when  their  guns 
went  off,  and  lived  in  dread  of  their  beards  catching 
fire.  ‘They  know  nothing,’  adds  Mandelslo,  ‘of 
the  distinction  of  Van-guard,  main  Battle,  and  Rear- 
guard, and  understand  neither  Front  nor  File,  nor 
make  any  Battalion,  but  fight  confusedly  without 
any  Order.  Their  greatest  strength  consists  in  the 
Elephants,  which  carry  on  their  backs  certain  Towers 
of  Wood,  wherein  there  are  three  or  foure  Harque- 
buses hanging  by  hooks,  and  as  many  men  to  order 
that  Artillery.  The  Elephants  serve  them  for  a 
Trench,  to  oppose  the  first  attempt  of  the  Enemy; 
but  it  often  comes  to  pass  that  the  Artificial  Fires, 
which  are  made  use  of  to  frighten  these  creatures, 
put  them  into  such  a disorder,  that  they  doe  much 


336 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


more  mischief  among  those  who  brought  them  to 
the  Field,  then  they  do  among  the  Enemies.  They 
have  abundance  of  Artiller\’,  and  some  considerable 
great  Pieces,  and  such  as  whereof  it  may  be  said,  the 
invention  of  them  is  as  ancient  as  that  of  ours. 
They  also  make  Gun-Powder,  but  it  is  not  fully  so 
good  as  what  is  made  in  Europe.  . . . Their 

Armies  do  not  march  about  five  Cos  [ten  miles]  a 
day,  and  when  they  encamp  they  take  up  so  great  a 
quantity  of  ground,  that  they  exceed  the  compass  of 
our  greatest  Cities.’ 

In  the  Itinerario  of  Father  Sebastian  Manrique, 
the  Augustinian  missionary,  published  at  Rome  in 
1649,  we  read  that  in  1640  the  city  of  Agra  stretched 
for  six  miles  along  the  Jumna,  and  had  a population 
of  600,000,  excluding  strangers,  who  crowded  thither. 
He  mentions  the  Jesuit  mission  and  church,  and 
afterwards  journeying  to  Lahore,  where  the  emperor 
was  then  residing,  he  describes  an  interview  with 
the  prime  minister,  Asaf  Khan,  Nur-Jahan’s  brother, 
to  whom  he  was  presented  by  a Portuguese  Jesuit, 
F.  da  Castro.  Asaf  Khan  dwelt  in  a splendid  palace 
adorned  with  pictures,  some  of  which  illustrated  the 
life  of  S.  John  Baptist.  At  a banquet  at  which  the 
emperor  himself  was  present.  Father  Sebastian  was 
amazed  at  the  sumptuous  fare  and  also  at  the 
presence  of  ladies  of  rank  unveiled.  This  was  in 
1641,  and  Asaf  Khan  died  the  same  year,  leaving  an 
immense  fortune,  in  spite  of  the  quarter  of  a million 
sterling  that  his  palace  at  Lahore  cost  him.  But,  as 
Roe  remarked,  he,  like  all  the  court,  was  ‘greedy  of 
gifts.’  IManrique  learned  from  Father  da  Castro  that 


337  'J'HE  TAJ-MAHAI.L  AT  AGRA, 


338 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  architect  of  the  famous  Taj  at  Agra  was  Geron- 
imo  Verroneo,  a Venetian,  and  this  accounts  for  its 
difference  from  other  Moghul  works.  As  the  learned 
topographer  and  historian,  Mr.  Keene,  has  well  said,' 
‘As  a building  and  apart  from  its  surroundings  it 
cannot  be  pronounced  to  be  an  organic  whole.  No 
relation  can  be  discovered  among  any  of  the  dimen- 
sions; the  outline  of  the  dome  does  not  express  the 
inward  form  of  the  vault  it  covers;  the  disengaged 
towers  at  the  four  corners  have  no  use  or  purpose, 
either  apparent  or  real.  The  fenestrations  give  little 
shadow  outside,  no  light  within.  Yet,  masked  by 
the  modern  garden,  and  consecrated  by  the  repose 
of  the  whole  scene  — glittering,  gleaming,  dis- 
tinguished— there  is  something  about  the  Taj,  as 
we  now  see  it,  which  is  perhaps  unequalled  by  any 
building  in  the  world  for  that  mysterious  fascination 
which  we  express  by  the  single  short  word  “ charm.”  ’ 
It  has  been  called  ‘a  dream  in  marble,  designed  by 
Titans,  and  finished  by  jewellers  ’ : but  Zoffany 
flippantly  remarked  that  ‘ it  only  needed  a glass  case.’ 
The  Taj-Mahall  was  finished  in  1648,  nearly  eight- 
een years  after  the  death  of  the  queen  who  lay 
meanwhile  in  a tomb  in  the  garden.  Tavernier  saw 
it  building,  and  says  20,000  workmen  were  continu- 
ously employed.  Long  before  this  the  other  build- 
ings which  Shah-Jahan  carried  out  at  Agra  were 
complete.  The  palaces  in  the  Fort  were  erected 
between  1628  and  1637,  the  great  Mosque  in  1644- 
50,  and  the  Moti‘  Masjid  or  ‘Pearl  Mosque’  was 
completed  in  1653.  But  the  Taj  was  to  be  the 
* H.  G.  Keene,  Skttch  of  the  IIisto?y  of  Hindustan  (1S85),  214. 

22 


SHAH-JAHAN’s  palace  at  AGRA. 


340 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


supreme  masterpiece  dedicated  to  a supreme  love, 
and  there  was  to  be  no  haste,  but  yet  no  rest,  about 
its  elaborate  and  stately  growth. 

Whatever  the  glories  of  Agra  — the  capital  of 
Babar  and  Akbar,  enlarged  and  enriched  by  Shah- 
Jahan  — they  were  eclipsed  by  the  splendour  of  the 
new  city  which  the  prince  of  Moghul  builders  laid 
out  at  Delhi,  Agra  is  full  of  his  noble  works,  but 
New  Delhi,  or  Shahjahanabad  as  he  named  it  and 
as  it  is  still  called,  was  his  creation.  It  was  begun 
about  the  time  that  Mandelslo  was  in  India,  and  ten 
years  later,  in  1648,  it  was  finished,  and  according  to 
all  accounts  it  must  have  been  the  most  magnificent 
royal  residence  in  the  world.  The  learned  French 
physician  Bernier, — the  pupil  of  Gassendi  and  school- 
fellow of  Moliere, — who  lived  at  the  court  for  many 
years  in  the  succeeding  reign  of  Aurangzib,  has  left 
a graphic  description  of  the  new  capital,  extracts 
from  which  will  be  found  in  the  next  chapter,  Fergus- 
son,  the  historian  of  architecture,  said  of  the  palace 
of  Shahjahanabad  that  it  was  ‘the  most  magnificent 
in  the  East — perhaps  in  the  world.’  The  fort  in  which 
it  stands  is  about  a mile  and  a half  in  circuit,  the 
massive  walls  rising  60  feet  above  the  river,  and 
higher  still  on  the  moated  side  towards  the  land. 
‘Two  barbicans,  each  no  feet  high,  guard  the  main 
entrance  on  that  side,  two  smaller  gates  opening  on 
the  side  facing  the  Jumna.  Within  was  a vast  series 
of  public  and  private  halls  and  apartments,  with  a 
mosque,  bath-house,  and  gardens ; the  whole  per- 
meated by  a marble  channel  bringing  in  the  bright 
and  wholesome  water  of  the  canal.’  The  great 


THE  AGED  EMPEROR 


341 


mosque,  dated  1658,  the  year  of  Shah-Jahan’s  de- 
position, ‘ is  raised  on  a rocky  basement,  and  has 
three  domes,  and  two  lofty  towers  each  130  feet 
high.  Its  outside  area  is  1400  square  yards,  and  the 
approach  is  up  a flight  of  thirty-three  steps.  Three 
sides  of  the  quadrangle  are  arcades  or  open  cloisters, 
the  fourth  being  the  sanctum  itself,  260  feet  long, 
with  a depth  of  90  feet.  The  hall  of  worship  is 
paved  with  black  and  white  marble,  marked  out  for 
899  worshippers.’ ' 

In  this  stately  city  Shah-Jahan  spent  his  luxuri- 
ous old  age,  sometimes  leaving  it  for  a summer 
villeggiatura  in  the  lovely  valleys  of  Kashmir, 
whither  he  would  journey  with  a set  of  travelling 
tents  so  numerous  and  complete  that  they  took 
two  months  to  pitch  at  the  successive  stages  of 
the  royal  route.  His  coronation  anniversaries  were 
observed  with  splendid  extravagance,  and  he  would 
then  be  weighed  according  to  Moghul  custom  in 
scales  against  the  precious  metals ; bowls  of  costly 
gems  were  poured  over  him,  and  all  these  riches, 
to  the  value  of  a million  and  a half,  were  ordered  to 
be  distributed  among  the  people.  The  emperor 
and  the  court  had  reached  a pitch  of  luxury  that 
fostered  effeminacy.  In  his  youth  and  early  man- 
hood Prince  Khurram  had  been  a brave  soldier, 
a brilliant  general,  a prudent  counsellor,  and  a stern 
and  resolute  governor.  As  he  grew  old  he  aband- 
oned all  active  pursuits,  gave  himself  up  more  and 
more  to  pleasure,  and  suffered  himself  to  be  man- 
aged by  his  children.  His  adored  wife,  the  lady  of 
' II.  G.  Keene,  1.  c.,  215,  216. 


342 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  Taj,  had  died  in  1631  in  giving  birth  to  their 
fourteenth  child,  and  Shah-Jahan,  essentially  an 
affectionate  ‘ family  man,’  whilst  denying  himself 
none  of  the  pleasures  of  the  zenana,  became  en- 
grossed in  his  devotion  to  his  eldest  daughter,  the 
Princess  Begum,  Jahan-Ara.  He  was  still  the  bene- 
volent and  popular  king  that  he  had  always  been 
since  his  accession,  but  his  strength  of  character 
was  gone ; he  had  become  a mere  sensual  pageant 
of  royalty,  given  over  to  ease  and  the  aesthetic 
delights  of  the  eye  and  taste.  Dryden  has  drawn 
the  contrast  in  ‘ Aureng-Zebe  ’ : 

‘ O ! had  he  still  that  character  maintain’d 
Of  Valour  which  in  blooming  Youth  he  gain’d  ! 

He  promised  in  his  East  a glorious  Race; 

Now,  sunk  from  his  Meridian,  sinks  apace. 

But  as  the  Sun,  when  he  from  Noon  declines, 

And  with  abated  heat  less  fiercely  shines, 

Seems  to  grow  milder  as  he  goes  away. 

Pleasing  himself  with  the  remains  of  Day: 

So  he  who  in  his  Youth  for  Glory  strove 
Would  recompense  his  Age  with  Ease  and  Love.’ 

The  burden  of  state  interfered  with  his  enjoy- 
ment, and  he  sought  to  devolve  his  power  upon  his 
four  sons,  to  each  of  whom  he  gave  the  vice-royalty 
of  a distant  province,  in  the  hope  of  stilling  their 
dangerous  jealousies.  The  sceptre  was  falling  from 
his  hand,  and  he  tried  to  secure  peace  by  breaking 
it  in  pieces.  It  was  a fatal  policy.  The  fragments 
of  the  sceptre,  like  the  rods  of  Pharaoh’s  sorcerers, 
turned  into  so  many  serpents,  which  strangled  the 


343 


344 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


remnant  of  his  power,  till  the  rod  of  Aurangzib 
swallowed  up  the  rest,  and  with  them  the  Peacock 
Throne  itself. 

The  Deccan  was  the  Dauphin^  of  the  Moghul 
empire.  It  was  there  that  Shah-Jahan  had  mustered 
his  strength  to  try  conclusions  with  his  father;  and 
it  was  thence  that  Aurangzib  drew  his  forces  in  the 
struggle  which  ended  in  his  coronation.  As  the 
chief  warlike  events  of  Jahangir’s  reign  centred 
round  his  son’s  career,  so  Shah-Jahan’s  later  wars 
were  mainly  fought  by  Aurangzib.  History  had 
shown  that  whoever  could  rule  the  Deccan  was 
fit  to  be  master  of  India.  Shah-Jahan  had  won 
his  spurs  in  that  never  tranquil  government.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Akbar  had  annexed 
Khandesh  and  a portion  of  Berar  but  had  not 
conquered  any  of  the  four  kingdoms  into  which 
the  Bahmanid  empire  of  the  Deccan  had  broken 
up.  The  Nizam  Shahs  of  Ahmadnagar,  the  Adil 
Shahs  of  Bijapur,  the  Kutb  Shahs  of  Golkonda, 
were  still  powerful,  though  the  Barid  Shahs  of  Bidar 
were  no  more.  The  Nizam  Shahs,  being  nearest 
to  the  Moghul  frontier,  were  the  most  obnoxious, 
and  their  able  vezir,  an  Abyssinian  named  Malik 
Amber,  repeatedly  routed  the  imperial  armies, 
recovered  Ahmadnagar  of  ♦which  they  had  tempor- 
ary possession,  and  drove  them  back  to  Khandesh. 
Malik  Amber’s  skilful  tactics  with  light  Maratha 
cavalry,  afterwards  so  successful  in  the  hands  of 
the  same  people  against  Aurangzib,  perpetually 
harassed  the  Moghul  troops  and  wore  them  out, 
till  it  seemed  as  if  the  empire  of  Delhi  must  once 


THE  DECCAN 


345 


more  withdraw  north  of  the  dividing  mountain 
range.  It  was  then  that  Shah-Jahan  had  shown 
his  mettle.  Arriving  in  the  Deccan  in  i6i6,  he 
skilfully  detached  the  king  of  Bijapur  from  the 
support  of  Amber,  and  soon  brought  the  vezir  to 
his  knees:  in  a year’s  campaign  Ahmadnagar  was 
recovered  and  Malik  Amber  became  a tributary 
vassal.  Then  followed  Shah-Jahan’s  rebellion,  dis- 
grace, and  flight,  and  the  Deccan  province  was 
intrusted  to  his  brother  Parviz,  who  speedily  drank 
himself  to  death,  leaving  the  command  to  the 
general  Khan-Jahan. 

Throughout  Shah-Jahan’s  reign  the  Deccan  had 
been  constantly  disturbed  by  wars  and  rebellions. 
Khan-Jahan  revolted  in  1629,  was  defeated,  and 
killed  in  Bandelkhand  (1631);  but  his  conciliatory 
policy  towards  the  Deccan  kings,  to  whom  he  sold 
Ahmadnagar  in  order  to  strengthen  his  power,  had 
weakened  the  Moghul  position.  The  campaigns  of 
A‘zam,  Mahabat,  and  Asaf  Khans  did  little  to  re- 
store the  lost  prestige  ; but  when  Shah-Jahan  ad- 
vanced in  person  in  1635,  the  king  of  Bijapur  at 
length  found  himself  outmatched,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  consented  to  a peace  by  which  he  agreed 
to  pay  £200,000  to  Delhi  in  annual  tribute.  The 
Nizam  Shah’s  dominions  were  absorbed  in  the 
Moghul  empire,  and  his  dynasty  extinguished.  So 
matters  remained  for  nearly  twenty  years,  until 
Aurangzib  became  viceroy  of  the  Deccan  in  1655, 
and  proved  it  once  more  to  be  the  Dauphine  that 
led  to  the  steps  of  the  throne.  This  third  son  of 
Shah-Jahan,  born  in  1618,  had  already  been  governor 


346 


MEDIEVAL  hXDIA 


of  the  Deccan  in  1636  immediately  after  his  father’s 
successful  campaign  against  Bijapur;  but  the  youth 
of  seventeen  seems  to  have  been  more  occupied 
with  thoughts  of  the  world  to  come  than  with 
the  earth  beneath  his  eyes.  In  1643,  when  only 
twenty-four,  he  announced  his  intention  of  retiring 
from  the  world,  and  actually  took  up  his  abode 
in  the  wild  regions  of  the  Western  Ghats  and 
adopted  the  rigorous  system  of  self-mortification 
which  distinguished  the  fakir  or  mendicant  friar  of 
Islam.  The  novelty  of  the  experiment,  however, 
soon  faded  away  ; the  fakir  grew  heartily  tired  of 
his  retreat  ; and  the  prince  returned  to  carry  out 
his  notions  of  asceticism  in  a sphere  where  they 
were  more  creditable  to  his  self-denial  and  more 
operative  upon  the  great  W’orld  in  which  he  was 
born  to  work. 

It  is  true  his  first  campaigns  were  unsuccessful. 
Ordered  in  1647  to  take  command  of  the  provinces 
of  Balkh  and  Badakhshan  beyond  the  Hindu  Kush, 
recently  conquered  from  the  Uzbegs  by  Shah-Jahan’s 
generals,  Aurangzib  found  the  position  untenable  in 
face  of  the  inveterate  hostility  of  the  indomitable 
hill  tribes,  and  withdrew  his  forces  with  heavy  loss. 
Nor  were  his  attempts  in  1649  and  1652  to  recover 
Kandahar  from  the  Persians,  who  had  retaken  it  in 
1648,  more  successful.  Aurangzib  had  again  to  re- 
treat discomfited,  as  his  elder  brother  Dara  did  from 
a third  attempt  in  1653.  These  campaigns  in 
Afghanistan  and  beyond  the  Hindu  Kush  are  of  no 
importance  in  the  history  of  India,  except  as  illus- 
trating the  extreme  difficulty  of  holding  the  mount- 


AURANGZIB  IN  THE  DECCAN 


347 


ain  provinces  from  a distant  centre;  but  they  were 
of  the  greatest  service  to  Aurangzib.  They  put  him 
in  touch  with  the  imperial  army,  and  enabled  him 
to  prove  his  courage  and  tactics  in  the  eyes  of  the 
best  soldiers  in  the  land.  The  generals  learnt  to 
appreciate  him  at  his  true  value,  and  the  men  dis- 
covered that  their  prince  was  as  cool  and  steady  a 
leader  as  the  best  officer  in  India.  He  had  gone 
over  the  mountains  a reputed  devotee,  with  no  mili- 
tary record  to  give  him  prestige.  He  came  back  an 
approved  general,  a prince  whose  wisdom,  coolness, 
endurance,  and  resolution  had  been  tested  and  ac- 
claimed in  three  arduous  campaigns.  The  wars 
over  the  north-west  frontier  had  ended  as  such  wars 
have  often  ended  since,  but  they  had  done  for 
Aurangzib  what  they  did  for  Stewart  and  Roberts: 
they  placed  their  leader  in  the  front  rank  of  Indian 
generals. 

The  inevitable  destiny  of  a prince  who  had  dis- 
played such  ability  was  to  govern  the  ever  critical 
province  of  the  Deccan.  His  arrival  in  1655  was 
the  sign  for  a vigorous  ‘ forward  policy.’  Not  only 
were  the  kings  of  Golkonda  and  Bijapur  in  posses- 
sion of  provinces  which  had  once  been  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Delhi,  but  they  were  Shi‘a  heretics, 
whom  it  was  the  duty  of  an  orthodox  Muslim  to 
chastise.  Aurangzib  found  an  invaluable  ally  in 
Mir  Jumla,  a Persian  of  brilliant  military  genius, 
who  in  many  campaigns,  as  vezir  of  Golkonda,  had 
shown  himself  a very  scourge  of  idolatry  and  perse- 
cutor of  Hindus.  This  talented  and  ambitious  offi- 
cer had  fallen  out  with  his  king,  and  now  threw 


348 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


himself  upon  the  protection  of  the  Moghul.  Over- 
joyed  at  the  pretext  Aurangzib  marched  upon  Gol- 
konda  (1656),  and,  but  for  urgent  commands  from 
his  pacific  father,  would  have  added  that  kingdom 
then  and  there  to  the  Moghul  empire.  Foiled  on 
the  very  eve  of  victory,  he  sent  Mir  Jumla  to  Agra, 
where  the  crafty  Persian  so  worked  upon  the  cupid- 
ity of  the  old  emperor,  by  describing  the  wealth  of 
the  decrepit  southern  kingdoms  that  were  ready  to 
fall  like  over-ripe  fruit  into  his  hands,  and  by  pre- 
senting him  with  an  earnest  of  the  treasures  to  be 


GOLD  COIN  OF  SHAH-JAHAN,  A.H.I066  (A.D.  I655-6). 


amassed  in  the  shape  of  the  famous  Koh-i-nur  dia- 
mond,' which  after  a series  of  strange  adventures 
now  reposes  among  the  crown  jewels  of  England, 
that  Shah-Jahan  consented  to  an  aggressive  policy. 
Aurangzib,  reinforced  by  Jumla,  accordingly  wrested 
Bidar  from  the  king  of  Bijapur,  occupied  Kulbarga 
and  Kaliani,  and  was  on  the  point  of  conquering 
Bijapur  itself,  the  capital  of  the  Add  Shah,  when 
his  father’s  alarming  illness  in  1657  summoned  him 
to  the  north.  Once  more  he  was  baulked  on  the 
very  eve  of  triumph. 

' See  above  p.  204. 


THE  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION 


349 


Shah-Jahan  was  believed  to  be  dying.  There  was 
no  law  of  succession,  and  each  of  the  four  sons  pre- 
pared to  fight  for  the  throne.  Shuja‘  was  away  to 
the  east,  governor  of  Bengal ; Aurangzib  was  down 
south  in  the  Deccan  ; Murad-Bakhsh  was  in  the  west, 
making  merry  in  Gujarat.  To  Dara  was  assigned 
the  government  of  Multan  and  Kabul;  but  he  had 
become  so  necessary  to  his  father  that  he  deputed 
his  functions  to  others,  and  himself  remained  at 
Delhi  attached  to  the  king’s  person.  Each  of  the 
princes  behaved  more  like  an  independent  sovereign 
than  a lieutenant  of  the  emperor.  They  had  the 
command  of  rich  revenues,  which  they  devoted  to 
the  formation  of  large  armies  in  preparation  for  the 
struggle  which  they  knew  to  be  inevitable. 

Shah  Shuja‘  was  first  in  the  field.  He  at  once  an- 
nounced that  his  father  had  been  poisoned  by  Dara ; 
proclaimed  himself  emperor  ; engraved  his  name  on 
the  coinage  of  Bengal,  and  set  out  to  march  upon 
Agra.  Almost  at  the  same  moment  Murad-Bakhsh 
caused  coins  to  be  struck  at  Ahmadabad  and  the 
prayer  for  the  king  to  be  recited  in  his  own  name, 
and  displayed  his  lordly  instinct  by  immediately  as- 
saulting the  city  of  Surat  and  extorting  six  lacs  of 
rupees  from  its  luckless  merchants.  Aurangzib,  in 
the  Deccan,  alone  of  the  four  brothers,  assumed  no 
royal  function.  Whatever  his  designs  may  have 
been,  for  the  present  he  kept  them  to  himself. 

Dara  lost  no  time  in  sending  out  the  imperial 
armies  to  chastise  Shuja‘  and  Murad-Bakhsh.  The 
former  was  easily  repulsed  : Raja  Jai  Singh  surprised 
him  at  his  camp  near  Benares,  and  attacked  before 


350 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


sun-rise,  while  the  careless  bon  vivatit  was  yet  heavy 
with  wine.  After  a brief  contest  the  rebels  gave 
way,  and  the  dazed  prince,  hardly  awake,  hastily 
took  to  flight,  abandoning  his  camp  and  treasure, 
artillery  and  ammunition.  Meanwhile  Aurangzib 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  join  forces  with  his  younger 
brother,  Murad-Bakhsh,  and  shortly  met  him  near 
the  Narbada  at  the  head  of  the  Deccan  army.  To- 
wards the  close  of  April,  1658,  the  combined  forces 
came  upon  the  royal  army,  under  the  Maharaja 
Jaswant  Singh,  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  Nar- 
bada. Under  a withering  storm  of  arrows  and  jave- 
lins, Murad-Bakhsh  charged  across  the  ford,  followed 
by  the  whole  strength  of  the  Deccan,  and  crashed 
into  the  royal  forces  with  an  overwhelming  shock. 
Kasim  Khan  and  his  Mohammedans  fled  from  the 
field.  The  Rajputs  fought  desperately,  till  of  their 
8000  men,  only  600  remained.  The  wounded  rem- 
nant sadly  followed  their  chief  back  to  his  desert 
fastness  in  Marwar.  There  he  was  received  with 
bitter  scorn.  His  high-mettled  wife  shut  the  castle 
gates  in  his  face,  saying  that  a man  so  dishonoured 
should  not  enter  her  walls:  ‘If  he  could  not  van- 
quish, he  should  die.’ 

The  Moghul  capital  was  in  an  uproar.  Dara,  ex- 
asperated by  the  defeat,  resolved  to  wipe  out  the 
disgrace,  and  led  a magnificent  array  to  the  en- 
counter : the  lowest  calculation  places  his  army  at 
icx3,ooo  horse,  20,000  foot,  and  80  guns,  but  many 
were  half-hearted  in  his  cause.  At  the  Chambal, 
Dara  found  that  his  brothers,  making  a circuit, 
had  already  crossed  the  river  on  the  2nd  of  June. 


BATTLE  OF  SAMUCARH 


351 


The  two  armies  came  in  sight  of  each  other  on  the 
7th,  at  Samugarh,  afterwards  known  as  Fathabad, 
' the  place  of  victory.’  For  a day  or  more  they  re- 
mained observing  one  another.  The  heat  was  such 
as  is  only  known  on  the  plains  of  India.  It  was  a 
true  Agra  summer,  and  the  men  were  fainting  and 
dying  in  their  heavy  armour.  Early  in  the  morning, 
Aurangzib  marshalled  his  men.  ‘ Keeping  the  com- 
mand of  the  centre  for  himself,  he  placed  Murad- 
Bakhsh  in  the  left  wing,  appointed  Bahadur  Khan 
to  lead  the  right,  and  sent  forward  his  own  son  Mo- 
hammad with  the  advance  guard  to  act  with  the 
artillery,  which  was,  as  usual,  in  the  van.  Dara 
meanwhile  disposed  his  forces  in  a similar  order. 
He  placed  his  cannon  in  front,  linked  together  by 
iron  chains,  so  that  the  enemy’s  cavalry  might  not 
break  through.  Immediately  behind  the  cannon,  he 
ranged  a line  of  light  artillery-camels,  mounting 
brass  pieces  worked  on  swivels,  and  fired  by  the 
rider.  Then  came  infantry-  armed  with  muskets. 
The  mass  of  the  army  was  composed  as  usual  of 
cavalry  armed  with  sabres,  pikes,  and  arrows.  The 
last  was  the  favorite  weapon  of  the  Moghuls  and 
Persians ; the  hand-pike  being  the  special  arm  of  the 
Rajputs.  Khalil-Allah  Khan  commanded  the  right, 
Rustam  Khan  the  left,  and  Dara  himself  was  with 
the  centre. 

‘ The  battle  began,  as  Moghul  battles  always  did, 
by  an  artillery  engagement ; cannon  were  fired  ; rock- 
ets or  hand-grenades  were  thrown  to  excite  a stam- 
pede among  the  enemy’s  horses  and  elephants,  and 
then  the  infantry  came  into  action  with  their  clumsy 


352 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


matchlocks,  whilst  flights  of  arrows  flew  over  their 
heads  from  the  archers  behind.  Dara’s  advance 
guard,  under  his  son  Sipihr  Shukoh,  then  came  out 
and  drove  in  Prince  Mohammad’s  squadrons,  and 
this  advantage  was  immediately  followed  up  by 
bringing  the  left  wing  to  bear  upon  Aurangzib’s 
right,  which  wavered,  and  seemed  on  the  point  of 
breaking,  when  reinforcements  opportunely  came  up 
from  the  centre.  After  this  the  engagement  became 
general.  Dara,  towering  high  above  his  horsemen 
on  a beautiful  Ceylon  elephant,  led  his  centre  against 
Aurangzib,  carried  the  enemy’s  guns,  after  severe 
loss,  and  routed  the  camel  corps  and  infantry.  With 
the  shock  of  horsemen  against  horsemen  the  real 
struggle  began.  No  Moghul  prince,  as  yet,  knew 
the  colour  of  the  “ white  feather,”  and  Dara  displayed 
all  the  splendid  valour  of  his  famous  blood.  Empty- 
ing their  quivers  upon  the  Deccan  horse,  he  and  his 
men  came  to  the  sword,  and  fought  hand  to  hand  till 
the  enemy  began  to  break  and  fly. 

‘ It  was  the  critical  moment  of  the  fight.  The  day 
was  going  against  Aurangzib.  The  flower  of  his  cav- 
alry was  driven  back,  and  he  was  now  standing,  with 
scarcely  a thousand  men  about  him,  awaiting  Dara’s 
onslaught.  Never  was  cool  courage  put  to  a severer 
test ; but  Aurangzib’s  nerve  was  steel.  ’‘'‘Dili,  Yar- 
ana,  Take  heart,  my  friends,”  he  cried.  “ Khiida-he  ! 
There  is  a God ! What  hope  have  we  in  flight  ? 
Know  ye  not  where  is  our  Deccan?  Khuda-he ! 
Khuda-he!  ” Thereupon  he  ordered  the  legs  of  his 
elephant  to  be  chained  together,  to  make  retreat  im- 
possible, The  mere  order  was  enough  to  restore  the 


BATTLE  OF  SAMUGARH 


353 


ebbing  courage  of  the  few  squadrons  that  still  stood 
beside  him. 

‘ Meanwhile  Murad-Bakhsh  was  hotly  engaged 
with  Dara’s  right,  fighting  like  a lion  and  reeking 
with  slaughter.  Three  thousand  Uzbegs  charged  up 
to  his  ensanguined  elephant,  and  arrows,  spears,  and 
battle-axes  rained  so  thickly  that  the  frightened  ani- 
mal turned  to  fly.  The  Moghul  courage  was  again 
put  to  the  test.  The  elephant’s  legs  were  quickly 
chained.  Then  Raja  Ram  Singh,  of  the  valiant 
Rantela  stock,  came  riding  up  with  his  Rajputs,  in- 
solently shouting,  “ Dost  thou  dispute  the  throne 
with  Dara  Shukoh  ? ” and  hurling  his  spear  at  the 
prince,  tried  to  cut  his  elephant’s  girths.  The  Mo- 
ghul, wounded  as  he  was,  and  sore  beset  on  all  hands, 
cast  his  shield  over  his  little  son,  who  sat  beside  him 
in  the  howdah,  and  shot  the  raja  dead.  The  fallen 
Rajputs,  in  yellow  garb,  and  stained  with  their  war- 
paint of  turmeric,  were  heaped  about  the  elephant’s 
feet,  and  “ made  the  ground  like  a field  of  saffron.” 

‘The  cool  courage  of  the  one  prince  and  the  fiery 
valour  of  the  other  daunted  Dara’s  division.  Au- 
rangzib  and  Murad-Bakhsh  were  still  perilously 
hemmed  in  by  raving  Rajputs,  maddened  with  bang, 
and  furious  at  the  death  of  their  chiefs,  but  it 
needed  little  to  turn  the  balance  of  fortune  either 
way.  It  was  Dara’s  unlucky  destiny  always  to  turn 
it  against  himself.  At  this  crisis  he  committed  the 
most  fatal  error  that  an  Indian  commander  could 
perpetrate.  All  the  army  looked  to  his  tall  elephant 
as  to  a standard  of  victory.  Yet  now,  when  the  day 
seemed  almost  his  own,  he  must  need  dismount. 

23 


354 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Murad-Bakhsh  was  still  there  on  his  gory  elephant, 
with  his  howdah  stuck  as  full  of  arrows  as  a porcu- 
pine with  quills,  grimly  dealing  blow  for  blow  and 
shaft  for  shaft.  Aurangzib  towered  high  above  a 
seething  scrimmage  of  Rajputs.  But  where  was 
Dara?  It  was  though  the  sun  had  vanished  in  mid- 
heaven. A blind  panic  seized  upon  the  all  but  vic- 
torious army,  and  every  man  fled  for  dear  life.  Once 
a panic  has  got  hold  of  an  Indian  army,  no  power 
can  save  it.  In  a brief  moment  the  tide  had  turned, 
and  the  all  but  vanquished  became  the  victors.  For 
a terrible  moment  Aurangzib  had  steadily  main- 
tained his  seat  on  his  besieged  elephant,  and  his 
reward  was  the  Peacock  Throne.  A little  too  soon 
Dara  had  dismounted,  to  be  “ numbered  among  the 
most  miserable  of  princes,”  a fugitive  and  a vaga- 
bond in  the  earth.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  did 
Aurangzib  descend  from  his  elephant,  and  pros- 
trating himself  on  the  bloody  field,  give  thanks  to 
God  for  this  great  and  glorious  victory.’  ’ 

The  victory  of  Samugarh  was  the  signal  for  all 
the  world  to  come  and  tender  their  homage  to  Au- 
rangzib, who  remained  on  the  field  of  his  triumph, 
busily  engaged  night  and  day  in  negotiating  with  his 
father’s  amirs.  They  required  little  inducement  to 
eome  over  to  the  side  of  the  rising  man.  The  Raja 
Jai  Singh,  who  commanded  the  army  which  had  suc- 
cessfully repulsed  Shuja'  in  Bengal,  gave  in  his  ad- 
hesion to  the  coming  man.  The  Maharaja  Jaswant 
Singh,  burying  the  hatchet,  presently  followed  his 

^ hANE-VoOLE,  A ttrangzii  (Clarendon  Press,  1893),  46-50,  from 
which  further  extracts  are  subjoined. 


CAPTIVITY  OF  SIIAH-JAHAN 


355 


example  and  tendered  his  fealty  to  the  new  power. 
Dara  had  already  fled  with  a few  hundred  followers, 
and  his  father  had  sent  money  and  five  thousand 
horsemen  to  assist  him.  Aurangzib  now  turned  his 
attention  to  his  most  dangerous  rival,  the  still  popu- 
lar Shah-Jahan. 

The  father  tried  to  induce  his  son  to  visit  him, 
but  Aurangzib,  suspecting  a trap,  sent  his  son  Mo- 
hammad, who  entered  the  fort  of  Agra  on  the 
1 8th  of  June,  overcame  the  guard,  and  turned  the 
palace  into  a prison.  Shah-Jahan  never  left  the  castle 
during  his  seven  remaining  years  of  life.  ‘ He  was 
allowed  every  enjoyment  that  his  sensuous  nature 
demanded,  loaded  with  presents,  and  supplied  with 
such  amusements  as  most  entertained  him.  His 
daughter,  the  Begam  Sahib,  and  all  his  numerous 
wonrren,  kept  him  company.  Cooks  skilfully  min- 
istered to  his  appetite,  and  dancers  and  singing 
girls  enlivened  his  senile  revels.  Like  many  an- 
other aged  voluptuary,  he  became  wondrously 
devout  at  times,  and  holy  Mullas  came  and  read 
the  blessed  Koran  to  him.  Even  Bernier,  who 
disliked  Aurangzib,  says  that  the  indulgence  and 
respect  he  showed  to  his  captive  father  were  ex- 
emplary. He  consulted  him  like  an  oracle,  and 
there  was  nothing  he  would  not  give  him,  except 
liberty.  The  two  became  partly  reconciled,  and 
the  father  bestowed  his  blessing  and  forgiveness  on 
the  son:  but  they  never  met.  Shah-Jahan  died 
at  the  beginning  of  1666  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 
The  new  emperor  hastened  to  Agra  to  pay  respect 
to  his  obsequies,  and  the  body  was  laid  in  a tomb 


356 


iMEDI.^EVAL  INDIA 


near  the  beautiful  Taj  which  the  late  sovereign  had 
set  up  in  memory  of  his  wife.’ 

The  day  after  Shah-Jahan  had  been  safely  locked 
up,  Aurangzib  entered  Agra,  seized  Dara’s  house 
and  treasure  (17  lacs  of  rupees'),  and  at  once  pur- 
sued his  brother.  Murad-Bakhsh,  who  had  been 
enjoying  the  honours  of  kingship,  accompanied  him 
in  all  the  glory  of  mock  sovereignty  and  twenty- 
six  lacs  of  rupees  in  his  money  bags.  On  the  road 
Aurangzib  found  or  made  his  boorish  brother  dis- 
gracefully drunk,  and,  protesting  that  such  a violator 
of  the  law  of  Islam  could  never  sit  on  the  throne, 
threw  him  into  chains  (July  5).  That  night  he 
was  secretly  conveyed  to  the  state  prison  in  the 
island  fortress  of  Salimgarh,  opposite  Delhi,  where 
he  was  e.xecuted  three  years  later. 

The  successful  schemer  led  the  combined  forces 
in  the  footsteps  of  Dara,  by  forced  marches,  day 
and  night,  with  his  usual  unflagging  energy,  living 
the  life  of  a common  soldier,  and  sleeping  on  the 
bare  ground.  His  stoicism  awed  his  followers  ; but 
Dara’s  own  tendency  to  political  suicide  saved  his 
brother  trouble.  To  sum  up  many  months  of  mis- 
fortune, Dara  once  more  braved  the  army  of  Au- 
rangzib in  the  hills  near  Ajmir,  and,  after  four  days’ 
hard  fighting,  was  again  put  to  flight.  With  his 
wife  and  daughter  and  a few  servants  he  made  for 
Ahmadabad.  The  servants  plundered  his  baggage 
and  ravished  the  jewels  of  the  princesses,  and,  to 

* The  rupee  at  that  time  was  worth  2/3.  The  lac  {lakh)  is  100,000 
rupees  11,250),  and  the  cror  {karor)  100  lacs,  or  10,000,000 
rupees  1,125,000). 


THE  END  OF  BAR  A 


357 


crown  his  misery,  when  the  fugitive  at  length 
reached  the  once  friendly  city,  he  found  its  gates 
closed  against  him.  His  wife  died  of  hardship 
and  misery,  and  he  deprived  himself  of  his  scanty 
escort  in  order  to  send  her  body  to  be  honourably 
interred  at  Lahore.  At  last  ‘ after  few  welcomes 
and  many  rejections,  after  bitter  bereavement  and 
weary  wanderings,  the  crown  prince  and  would-be 
emperor  of  India  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of 
his  enemy.  He  was  paraded  through  the  streets 
of  Delhi  dressed  in  the  meanest  clothes,  on  a 
wretched  elephant,  covered  with  filth  ; and  the 
tumult  which  this  barbarous  humiliation  stirred  up 
among  the  people  nearly  amounted  to  a rebellion.’ 
‘ Everywhere,’  says  Bernier,  ‘ I observed  the  people 
weeping  and  lamenting  the  fate  of  Dara  in  the 
most  touching  language  : men,  women,  and  children 
wailing  as  if  some  mighty  calamity  had  happened 
to  themselves.’  In  face  of  such  alarming  sympathy 
Aurangzib  resolved  upon  a speedy  execution.  A 
council  was  held  ; Dara  was  found  to  be  an  apostate 
and  the  friend  of  infidels  ; and  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1659,  he  was  ordered  to  death.  ‘ Many 
wept  over  his  fate.’ 

Meanwhile  Shuja*  was  again  in  arms  as  viceroy 
in  Bengal,  and  was  pushing  his  way  up  the  Ganges 
valley:  but  in  vain.  He  was  soon  hunted  away  to 
Arakan,  conveyed  by  Portuguese  pirates,  who  at 
once  robbed  and  saved  him  (1660).  ‘The  last 
glimpse  we  get  of  him  is  tragical : wounded  and 
insulted,  he  fled  over  the  mountains,  with  but  one 
woman  and  three  faithful  followers  — and  was  heard 


358 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


of  no  more.’  The  last  rival  was  accounted  for, 
but  Aurangzib  had  not  waited  for  this.  He  had 
already  twice  assumed  the  throne : first  hurriedly 
proclaimed  in  the  garden  of  Shalimar  outside  Delhi 
in  the  last  days  of  July,  1658,  he  formally  ascended 
the  throne  in  state  on  the  26th  of  May,  1659. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  PURITAN  EMPEROR 
AURANGZIB 
1659-1680 

AURANGZIB  took  for  his  title  the  Persian  word 
engraved  on  the  sword  which  his  captive 
father  had  given  him — Alaingir,  ‘ World-compeller  ’ 
— and  by  this  title  he  was  known  to  his  subjects 
and  to  succeeding  generations  of  Muslims.  Before 
we  consider  the  use  he  made  of  his  power  we  must 
realize  something  of  his  character. 

‘Aurangzib  was,  first  and  last,  a stern  Puritan. 
Nothing  in  life — neither  throne,  nor  love,  nor  ease  — 
weighed  for  an  instant  in  his  mind  against  his  fealty 
to  the  principles  of  Islam.  For  religion  he  perse- 
cuted the  Hindus  and  destroyed  their  temples,  while 
he  damaged  his  exchequer  by  abolishing  the  time- 
honoured  tax  on  the  religious  festivals  and  fairs  of 
the  unbelievers.  For  religion’s  sake  he  waged  his 
unending  wars  in  the  Deccan,  not  so  much  to  stretch 
wider  the  boundaries  of  his  great  empire,  as  to  bring 
the  lands  of  the  heretical  Shi‘a  within  the  dominion 


359 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


360 

of  orthodox  Islam.  Religion  induced  Aurangzib  to 
abjure  the  pleasures  of  the  senses  as  completely  as 
if  he  had  indeed  become  the  fakir  he  had  once  de- 
sired to  be.  No  animal  food  passed  his  lips,  and 
his  drink  was  water;  so  that,  as  Tavernier  says,  he 
became  “ thin  and  meagre,  to  which  the  great  fasts 
which  he  keeps  have  contributed.  During  the 
whole  of  the  duration  of  the  comet  [four  weeks,  in 
1665],  which  appeared  very  large  in  India,  where  I 
then  was,  Aurangzib  only  drank  a little  water  and 
ate  a small  quantity  of  millet  bread  ; this  so  much 
affected  his  health  that  he  nearly  died,  for  besides 
this  he  slept  on  the  ground,  with  only  a tiger  skin 
over  him  ; and  since  that  time  he  has  never  had 
perfect  health.”  ’ Following  the  Prophet’s  precept 
that  every  Muslim  should  practise  a trade,  he  de- 
voted his  leisure  to  making  skull-caps,  which  were 
doubtless  bought  up  by  the  courtiers  of  Delhi  with 
the  same  enthusiasm  as  was  shown  by  the  ladies  of 
Moscow  for  Count  Tolstoi’s  boots.  He  not  only 
knew  the  Koran  by  heart,  but  copied  it  twice  over 
in  his  fine  calligraphy,  and  sent  the  manuscripts, 
richly  adorned,  as  gifts  to  Mekka  and  Medina.  Ex- 
cept the  pilgrimage,  which  he  dared  not  risk  lest  he 
should  come  back  to  find  an  occupied  throne,  he 
left  nothing  undone  of  the  whole  duty  of  the 
Muslim. 

‘ Aurangzib,  it  must  be  remembered,  might  have 
cast  the  precepts  of  Mohammad  to  the  winds  and 
still  kept  — nay,  strengthened  — his  hold  of  the 
sceptre  of  Hindustan.  After  the  general  slaughter 
• Tavernier’s  Travels,  transl.  V.  Ball  (1889),  i,  338. 


36i 


362 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


of  his  rivals,  his  seat  on  the  Peacock  Throne  was  as 
secure  as  ever  had  been  Shah-Jahan’s  or  Jahangir’s. 
They  held  their  power  in  spite  of  flagrant  violations 
of  the  law  of  Islam  ; they  abandoned  themselves  to 
voluptuous  ease,  to  “ Wein,  Weib,  und  Gesang,”  and 
still  their  empire  held  together  ; even  Akbar,  model 
of  Indian  sovereigns,  owed  much  of  his  success  to 
his  open  disregard  of  the  Mohammedan  religion. 
The  empire  had  been  governed  by  men  of  the  world, 
and  their  government  had  been  good.  There  was 
nothing  but  his  own  conscience  to  prevent  Aurang- 
zib  from  adopting  the  eclectic  philosophy  of  Akbar, 
the  luxurious  profligacy  of  Jahangir,  or  the  splendid 
ease  of  Shah-Jahan.  The  Hindus  would  have  pre- 
ferred anything  to  a Mohammedan  bigot.  The 
Rajput  princes  only  wanted  to  be  let  alone.  The 
Deccan  would  never  have  troubled  Hindustan  if 
Hindustan  had  not  invaded  it.  Probably  any  other 
Moghul  prince  would  have  followed  in  the  steps  of 
the  kings  his  forefathers,  and  emulated  the  indolence 
and  vice  of  the  court  in  which  he  had  received  his 
earliest  impressions. 

‘ Aurangzib  did  none  of  these  things.  For  the 
first  time  in  their  history  the  Moghuls  beheld  a rigid 
Muslim  in  their  emperor  — a Muslim  as  sternly  re- 
pressive of  himself  as  of  the  people  around  him,  a 
king  who  was  prepared  to  stake  his  throne  for  the 
sake  of  the  faith.  He  must  have  known  that  com- 
promise and  conciliation  formed  the  easiest  and 
safest  policy  in  an  empire  composed  of  hetero- 
geneous elements  of  race  and  religion.  He  was  no 
youthful  enthusiast  when  he  ascended  the  throne  at 


THE  PURITAN  EMPEROR 


363 


Delhi,  but  a ripe  man  of  forty,  deeply  experienced 
in  the  policies  and  prejudices  of  the  various  sections 
of  his  subjects.  He  must  have  been  fully  conscious 
of  the  dangerous  path  he  was  pursuing,  and  well 
aware  that  to  run  a-tilt  against  every  Hindu  senti- 
ment, to  alienate  his  Persian  adherents,  the  flower 
of  his  general  staff,  by  deliberate  opposition  to  their 
cherished  ideas,  and  to  disgust  his  nobles  by  sup- 
pressing the  luxury  of  a jovial  court,  was  to  invite 
revolution.  Yet  he  chose  this  course,  and  adhered 
to  it  with  unbending  resolve  through  close  on  fifty 
years  of  unchallenged  sovereignty.  The  flame  of 
religious  zeal  blazed  as  hotly  in  his  soul  when  he  lay 
dying  among  the  ruins  of  his  Grand  Army  of  the 
Deccan,  an  old  man  on  the  verge  of  ninety,  as  when, 
in  the  same  fatal  province,  but  then  a youth  in  the 
springtime  of  life,  he  had  thrown  off  the  purple  of 
viceregal  state  and  adopted  the  mean  garb  of  a 
mendicant  fakir. 

‘ All  this  he  did  out  of  no  profound  scheme  of 
policy,  but  from  sheer  conviction  of  right.  Aurang- 
zib  was  born  with  an  indomitable  resolution.  He 
had  early  formed  his  ideal  of  life,  and  every  spring 
of  his  vigorous  will  was  stretched  at  full  tension  in 
the  effort  to  attain  it.  His  was  no  ordinary  courage. 
That  he  was  physically  brave  is  only  to  say  he  was  a 
Moghul  prince  of  the  old  lion-hearted  stock.  But 
he  was  among  the  bravest  even  in  their  valiant  rank. 
In  the  crisis  of  the  campaign  in  Balkh,  when  the 
enemy  “ like  locusts  and  ants  ” hemmed  him  in  on 
every  side,  and  steel  was  clashing  all  around  him, 
the  setting  sun  heralded  the  hour  of  evening  prayer: 


3^4 


MEDIJEVAL  INDIA 


Aurangzib,  unmoved  amid  the  din  of  battle,  dis- 
mounted and  bowed  himself  on  the  bare  ground  in 
the  complicated  ritual  of  Islam,  as  composedly  as  if 
he  had  been  performing  the  rik'a  in  the  mosque  at 
Agra.  The  king  of  the  Uzbegs  noted  the  action, 
and  exclaimed,  “ To  fight  with  such  a man  is  self- 
destruction  ! ” ’ ‘ 

We  may  read  Aurangzib’s  ideal  of  enlightened 
kingship  in  his  reply  to  one  of  the  nobles  who  remon- 
strated with  him  on  his  incessant  application  to  affairs 
of  state : ‘ I was  sent  into  the  world  by  Providence,’ 
he  said,  ‘ to  live  and  labour,  not  for  myself,  but  for 
others ; it  is  my  duty  not  to  think  of  my  own  happi- 
ness, except  so  far  as  it  is  inseparably  connected 
with  the  happiness  of  my  people.  It  is  the  repose 
and  prosperity  of  my  subjects  that  it  behooves  me  to 
consult  ; nor  are  these  to  be  sacrificed  to  anything 
besides  the  demands  of  justice,  the  maintenance  of 
the  royal  authority,  and  the  security  of  the  state.  . . . 
It  was  not  without  reason  that  our  great  Sa'di  em- 
phatically exclaimed,  “ Cease  to  be  Kings ! Oh, 
cease  to  he  Kings  ! Or  determine  that  your  dominions 
shall  be  governed  only  by  yourselves."  ’ ’’  In  the  same 
spirit  he  wrote  to  Shah-Jahan  : ‘Almighty  God  be- 
stows his  trusts  upon  him  who  discharges  the  duty 
of  cherishing  his  subjects  and  protecting  the  people. 
It  is  manifest  and  clear  to  the  wise  that  a wolf  is  no 
fit  shepherd,  neither  can  a faint-hearted  man  carry 
out  the  great  duty  of  government.  Sovereignty  is 
the  guardianship  of  the  people,  not  self-indulgence 

’ Lane-Poole,  Aurangzib.  65,  ff. 

’ Bernier,  130,  144. 


THE  PURITAN  EMPEROR 


365 


and  profligacy.’  And  these  were  not  merely  fine 
sentiments  but  ruling  principles.  No  act  of  injustice, 
according  to  the  law  of  Islam,  at  least  after  his  ac- 
cession, has  been  proved  against  him.  Ovington,  who 
was  informed  by  Aurangzib’s  least  partial  critics,  the 
English  merchants  at  Bombay  and  Surat,  says  that 
the  Great  Mogul  is  ‘the  main  ocean  of  justice.  . . . 
He  generally  determines  with  exact  justice  and 
equity  ; for  there  is  no  pleading  of  peerage  or  privi- 
lege before  the  emperor,  but  the  meanest  man  is  as 
soon  heard  by  Aurangzib  as  the  chief  Omrah  : 
which  makes  the  Omrahs  very  circumspect  of  their 
actions  and  punctual  in  their  payments.’  ‘ A native 
chronicler  tells  us  that  the  emperor  was  a mild  and 
painstaking  judge,  easy  of  approach  and  gentle  of 
manner:  and  the  same  character  is  given  him  by  Dr 
Careri,  who  was  with  him  in  the  Deccan  in  1695.  So 
mild  indeed  was  his  rule  that  ‘ throughout  the  im- 
perial dominions  no  fear  and  dread  of  punishment 
remained  in  the  hearts  ’ of  the  provincial  district 
officials,  and  the  result  was  a state  of  corruption  and 
misgovernment  worse  than  had  ever  been  known 
under  the  shrewd  but  kindly  eye  of  Shah-Jahan.’ 
Yet  his  habit  of  mind  did  not  lend  itself  to  trust- 
ing his  officials  and  ministers  overmuch,  whether 
they  were  efficient  or  corrupt.  He  was  no  believer 
in  delegated  authority ; and  the  lessons  in  treachery 
which  the  history  of  his  dynasty  afforded,  and  in 
which  he  had  himself  borne  a part  during  the  war 
of  succession,  sank  deep  into  a mind  naturally  prone 

' Ovington,  Voyage  to  Suratt  in  the  Year  i6Sg  (Lond.  i6g6),  198. 

’ Khafi  Khan,  in  Elliot  and  Dowson,  vii,  246-8, 


366 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


to  suspicion.  That  he  lived  in  dread  of  poison  is 
only  what  many  Moghul  princes  endured:  he  had  of 
course  a taster,  and  Ovington  says  that  his  physician 
had  to  ‘ lead  the  way,  take  pill  for  pill,  dose  for 
dose,’  that  the  emperor  might  see  their  operation 
upon  the  body  of  the  doctor  before  he  ventured  him- 
self. His  father  had  done  the  like  before  him.  Like 
him  Aurangzib  was  served  by  a large  staff  of  offi- 
cial reporters,  who  sent  regular  letters  to  keep  the 
Great  Moghul  informed  of  all  that  went  on  in  the 
most  distant  as  well  as  the  nearest  districts.  He 
treated  his  sons  as  he  treated  his  nobles  ; imprisoned 
his  eldest  for  life,  and  kept  his  second  son  in  captiv- 
ity for  six  years  upon  a mere  suspicion  of  disloyalty. 
He  had  good  reason  to  know  the  danger  of  a son’s 
rebellion,  but  this  general  habit  of  distrust  was 
fatal  to  his  popularity.  Good  Muslims  have  often 
extolled  his  virtues;  but  the  mass  of  his  courtiers 
and  officers  lived  in  dread  of  arousing  his  suspicion, 
and,  while  they  feared,  resented  his  distrustful  scrut- 
iny. Aurangzib  was  universally  respected,  but  he 
was  never  loved. 

‘ Simple  of  life  and  ascetic  as  he  was  by  disposi- 
tion, Aurangzib  could  not  altogether  do  away  with 
the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  a court  which  had  at- 
tained the  pinnacle  of  splendour  under  his  magnificent 
father.  In  private  life  it  was  possible  to  observe 
the  rigid  rules  and  practise  the  privations  of  a 
saint : but  in  public  the  emperor  must  conform  to 
the  precedents  set  by  his  royal  ancestors  from  the 
days  of  Akbar,  and  hold  his  state  with  all  the  im- 
posing majesty  which  had  been  so  dear  to  Shah- 


AURANGZIB 


367 


Jahan.  A Great  Moghul  without  gorgeous  darbars, 
dazzling  jewels,  a glittering  assemblage  of  armed  and 
richly  habited  courtiers,  and  all  the  pageantry  of 
royal  state,  would  have  been  inconceivable  or  con- 
temptible to  a people  who  had  been  accustomed  for 
centuries  to  worship  and  delight  in  the  glorious 
spectacle  of  august  monarch  enthroned  amid  a blaze 
of  splendour.’  Among  orientals  especially  the 
clothes  make  the  king. 

‘The  emperor  divided  his  residence  between 
Delhi  and  Agra,  but  Delhi  was  the  chief  capital, 
where  most  of  the  state  ceremonies  took  place. 
Agra  had  been  the  metropolis  of  Akbar,  and  usually 
of  Jahangir:  but  its  sultry  climate  interfered  with 
the  enjoyment  of  their  luxurious  successor,  and  the 
court  was  accordingly  removed,  at  least  for  a large 
part  of  the  year,  to  New  Delhi,  the  “ City  of  Shah- 
Jahan.”  The  ruins  of  this  splendid  capital,  its 
mosques,  and  the  noble  remains  of  its  superb 
palace  are  familiar  to  every  reader.  To  see  it  as  it 
was  in  its  glory,  however,  we  must  look  through 
the  eyes  of  Bernier,  who  saw  it  when  only  eleven 
years  had  passed  since  its  completion.  His  de- 
scription was  written  at  the  capital  itself  in  1663, 
after  he  had  spent  four  years  of  continuous  resid- 
ence there  ; so  it  may  be  assumed  that  he  knew 
his  Delhi  thoroughly. 

‘ The  city,’  he  tells  us,  ‘ was  built  in  the  form  of 
a crescent  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Jumna,  which 
formed  its  north-eastern  boundary,  and  was  crossed 
by  a single  bridge  of  boats.  The  flat  surround- 
ing country  was  then,  as  now,  richly  wooded  and 


368 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


cultivated,  and  the  city  was  famous  for  its  luxuriant 
gardens.  The  circuit  of  the  walls  was  six  or  seven 
miles  ; but  outside  the  gates  were  extensive  suburbs, 
where  the  chief  nobles  and  wealthy  merchants  had 
their  luxurious  houses  ; and  there  also  were  the  de- 
cayed and  straggling  remains  of  the  older  city  just 
without  the  walls  of  its  supplanter.  Numberless 
narrow  streets  intersected  this  wide  area,  and  dis- 
played every  variety  of  building,  from  the  thatched 
mud  and  bamboo  huts  of  the  troopers  and  camp-fol- 
lowers, and  the  clay  or  brick  houses  of  the  smaller 
officials  and  merchants,  to  the  spacious  mansions 
of  the  chief  nobles,  with  their  courtyards  and 
gardens,  fountains  and  cool  matted  chambers,  open 
to  the  four  winds,  where  the  afternoon  siesta  might 
be  enjoyed  during  the  heats.  Two  main  streets, 
perhaps  thirty  paces  wide  and  very  long  and  straight, 
lined  with  covered  arcades  of  shops,  led  into  the 
“great  royal  square ’’which  fronted  the  fortress  or 
palace  of  the  emperor.  This  square  was  the  meet- 
ing-place of  the  citizens  and  the  army,  and  the 
scene  of  varied  spectacles.  Here  the  Rajput  rajas 
pitched  their  tents  when  it  was  their  duty  to  mount 
guard  ; for  Rajputs  never  consented  to  be  cooped 
up  within  Moghul  walls.  Beyond  was  the  fortress, 
which  contained  the  emperor’s  palace  and  inahall 
or  seraglio,  and  comm.anded  a view  of  the  river 
across  the  sandy  tract  where  the  elephant  fights 
took  place  and  the  rajas’  troops  paraded.  The 
lofty  walls  were  slightly  fortified  with  battlements 
and  towers  and  surrounded  by  a moat,  and  small 
field  pieces  were  pointed  upon  the  town  from 

24 


I HE  JAMI'  MASJID  OR  GREAT  MOSQUE  AT  DELHI. 


370 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  embrasures.  The  palace  within  was  the  most 
magnificent  building  of  its  kind  in  the  East,  and 
the  private  rooms  or  mahall  alone  covered  more 
than  twice  the  space  of  any  European  palace. 
Streets  opened  in  every  direction,  and  here  and 
there  were  seen  the  merchants’  caravanserais  and 
the  great  workshops  where  the  artisans  employed  by 
the  emperor  and  the  nobles  plied  their  hereditary 
crafts  of  embroidery,  silver  and  gold  smithery,  gun- 
making, lacquer-work,  painting,  turning,  and  so  forth. 

‘ Delhi  was  famous  for  its  skill  in  the  arts  and 
crafts.  It  was  only  under  royal  or  aristocratic 
patronage  that  the  artist  flourished  ; elsewhere  the 
artisan  was  at  the  mercy  of  his  temporary  employer, 
who  paid  him  as  he  chose.  The  Moghul  emperors 
displayed  a laudable  appreciation  of  the  fine  arts, 
which  they  employed  with  lavish  hands  in  the 
decoration  of  their  palaces.  A large  number  of 
exquisite  miniatures,  or  paintings  on  paper  designed 
to  illustrate  manuscripts  or  to  form  royal  portrait- 
albums,  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  The  technique  and  detail  are 
admirable,  and  the  colouring  and  lights  often  aston- 
ishingly skilful.  They  include  portraits  of  the  emper- 
ors, princes,  and  chief  nobles,  which  display  unusual 
power  in  the  delineation  of  individual  countenances  ; 
and  there  are  landscapes  which  are  happily  con- 
ceived and  brilliantly  executed.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  Jesuit  missions  at  Agra  and  other  cities 
of  Hindustan  brought  western  ideas  to  bear  upon 
the  development  of  Indian  painting.  Jahangir,  who 
was  by  his  own  account,  “ very  fond  of  pictures 


PAINTING 


371 


and  an  excellent  judge  of  them,”  is  recorded 
to  have  had  a picture  of  the  Madonna  behind  a 
curtain,  and  this  picture  is  represented  in  a con- 


LATTICE  IN  BATHROOM  OK  SHAII-JAHAN’s  PALACE  AT  DELHI. 

temporary  painting  which  has  fortunately  been 
preserved.'  Tavernier  saw  on  a gate  outside  Agra 

' In  the  collection  of  Colonel  H.  B.  Hanna. 


372 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


a representation  of  Jahangir’s  tomb  “carved  with  a 
great  black  pall  with  many  torches  of  white  wax, 
and  two  Jesuit  Fathers  at  the  end,”  and  adds  that 
Shah-Jahan  allowed  this  to  remain  because  “ his 
father  and  himself  had  learnt  from  the  Jesuits  some 
principles  of  mathematics  and  astrology.” ' The 
Augustinian  Manrique,  who  came  to  inspect  the 
Jesuit  missions  in  the  time  of  Shah-Jahan,  found,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  prime  minister  Asaf  Khan  at  La- 
hore in  a palace  decorated  with  pictures  of  Christian 
saints.  In  most  Moghul  portraits,  the  head  of  the 
emperor  is  surrounded  by  an  aureole  or  nimbus,  and 
many  other  features  in  the  schools  of  painting  at  Agra 
and  Delhi  remind  one  of  contemporary  Italian  art. 
The  artists  were  held  in  high  favour  at  court,  and 
many  of  their  names  have  been  preserved.  Their 
works  added  notably  to  the  decoration  of  the 
splendid  and  elaborate  palaces  which  are  amongst 
the  most  durable  memorials  of  the  period.’ 

The  scene  in  the  Hall  of  Audience  on  any  great 
occasion  was  almost  impressive  enough  to  justify 
the  inscription  on  the  gateway : ‘If  there  be  a 
Heaven  upon  earth,  it  is  here,  it  is  here.’  The 
emperor’s  approach  was  heralded  by  the  shrill  pip- 
ing of  the  hautboys  and  clashing  of  cymbals  from 
the  band-gallery  over  the  great  gate  : — 

‘ The  king  appeared  seated  upon  his  throne  at  the 
end  of  the  great  hall  in  the  most  magnificent  attire. 
His  vest  was  of  white  and  delicately  flowered  satin, 
with  a silk  and  gold  embroidery  of  the  finest  texture. 
The  turban  of  gold  cloth  had  an  aigrette  whose  base 

' Travels y i.,  iii, 


373  'I’HK  DIWAN-I-AMM  AT  DELHI, 


374 


MEDIMVAL  INDIA 


was  composed  of  diamonds  of  an  extraordinary  size 
and  value,  besides  an  oriental  topaz  which  may  be 
pronounced  unparalleled,  exhibiting  a lustre  like  the 
sun.  A necklace  of  immense  pearls  suspended  from 
his  neck  reached  to  the  stomach.  The  throne  was 
supported  by  si.x  massy  feet,  said  to  be  of  solid  gold, 
sprinkled  over  with  rubies,  emeralds,  and  diamonds. 
It  was  constructed  by  Shah-Jahan  for  the  purpose  of 
displaying  the  immense  quantity  of  precious  stones 
accumulated  successively  in  the  treasury  from  the 
spoils  of  ancient  rajas  and  Patans,  and  the  annual 
presents  to  the  monarch  which  every  Omrah  is 
bound  to  make  on  certain  festivals.  At  the  foot  of 
the  throne  were  assembled  all  the  Omrahs,  in  splen- 
did apparel,  upon  a platform  surrounded  by  a silver 
railing  and  covered  by  a spacious  canopy  of  brocade 
with  deep  fringes  of  gold.  The  pillars  of  the  hall 
were  hung  with  brocades  of  a gold  ground,  and 
flowered  satin  canopies  were  raised  over  the  whole 
expanse  of  the  extensive  apartment,  fastened  with 
red  silken  cords  from  which  were  suspended  large 
tassels  of  silk  and  gold.  The  floor  was  covered  en- 
tirely with  carpets  of  the  richest  silk,  of  immense 
length  and  breadth.  A tent,  called  the  aspek,  was 
pitched  outside  [in  the  court],  larger  than  the  hall, 
to  which  it  joined  by  the  top.  It  spread  over  half 
the  court,  and  was  completely  enclosed  by  a great 
balustrade,  covered  with  plates  of  silver.  Its  sup- 
porters were  pillars  over-laid  with  silver,  three  of 
which  were  as  thick  and  as  high  as  the  mast  of  a 
barque,  the  others  smaller.  The  outside  of  this 
magnificent  tent  was  red,  and  the  inside  lined  with 


THE  COURT 


375 


elegant  Masulipatan  chintzes,  figured  expressly  for 
that  very  purpose  with  flowers  so  natural  and 
colours  so  vivid  that  the  tent  seemed  to  be  en- 
compassed with  real  parterres.  As  to  the  arcade 
galleries  round  the  court,  every  Omrah  had  received 
orders  to  decorate  one  of  them  at  his  own  expense, 
and  there  appeared  a spirit  of  emulation  who  should 
best  acquit  himself  to  the  monarch’s  satisfaction. 
Consequently  all  the  arcades  and  galleries  were  cov- 
ered from  toj)  to  bottom  with  brocade,  and  the 
pavement  with  rich  carpets.’  ' 

Aurangzib  maintained  the  old  Moghul  custom  on 
his  birthday  of  being  solemnly  weighed  in  a pair  of 
gold  scales  “against  precious  metals  and  stones  and 
food,  when  the  nobles  one  and  all  came  with  offer- 
ings of  jewels  and  gold,  sometimes  to  the  value  of 
.^2,000,000.  The  festivals  often  ended  with  the 
national  sport,  an  elephant-fight.  ‘Two  elephants 
charged  each  other  over  an  earth  wall,  which  they 
soon  demolished  ; their  skulls  met  with  a tremen- 
dous shock,  and  tusks  and  trunks  were  vigorously 
plied,  till  at  length  one  was  overcome  by  the  other, 
when  the  victor  was  separated  from  his  prostrate 
adversary  by  an  explosion  of  fireworks  between 
them.  In  the  jovial  days  of  Jahangir  and  Shah- 
Jahan,  the  blooming  Kenchens  or  Nautch  girls  used 
to  play  a prominent  part  in  the  court  festivities,  and 
would  keep  the  jolly  emperors  awake  half  the  night 
with  their  voluptuous  dances  and  agile  antics ; but 
Aurangzib  was  “ unco  guid  ” and  would  as  soon 
tolerate  idolatry  as  a Nautch.’ 

' Bernier,  270, 


3/6 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


‘ Even  on  every  day  occasions,  when  there  were 
no  festivals  in  progress,  the  Hall  of  Audience  pre- 
sented an  animated  appearance.  Not  a day  passed 
but  the  emperor  held  his  lev'ee  from  the  jharuhha 
window,  whilst  the  bevy  of  nobles  stood  beneath, 
and  the  common  crowd  surged  in  the  court  to  lay 
their  grievances  and  suits  before  the  imperial  judge. 
The  ordinary  levee  lasted  a couple  of  hours,  and 
during  this  time  the  rcrj^al  stud  was  brought  from 
the  stables  opening  out  of  the  court,  and  passed  in 
review  before  the  emperor,  so  many  each  day  ; and 
the  household  elephants,  washed  and  painted  black, 
with  two  red  streaks  on  their  foreheads,  came  in 
their  embroidered  caparisons  and  silver  chains  and 
bells,  to  be  inspected  by  their  master,  and  at  the 
prick  and  voice  of  their  riders  saluted  the  emperor 
with  their  trunks  and  trumpeted  their  taslim  or 
homage.’ 

These  gorgeous  ‘ functions’  had  little  interest  for 
Aurangzib.  The  art  of  government  was  his  real 
passion.  Of  course,  with  his  mixed  and  jarring  pop- 
ulation of  Hindus,  Rajputs,  Patans,  and  Persians,  to 
say  nothing  of  opponents  in  the  Deccan,  his  first 
necessity  was  a standing  army.  He  could  indeed 
rely  upon  the  friendly  rajas  to  take  the  field  with 
their  gallant  followers  against  the  Shi'a  kingdom  in 
the  Deccan,  or  in  Afghanistan,  and  even  against 
their  fellow  Rajputs,  when  the  imperial  cause  hap- 
pened to  coincide  with  their  private  feuds.  He 
could  trust  the  Persian  officers  in  a conflict  with 
Patans  or  Hindus,  though  never  against  their  Shi‘a 
coreligionists  in  the  Deccan.  But  he  needed  a force 


THE  OMRAHS 


377 


devoted  to  himself  alone,  a body  of  retainers  who 
looked  to  him  for  rank  and  wealth,  and  even  for  the 
bare  means  of  subsistence.  This  he  found  in  the 
species  of  feudal  system  which  had  been  inaugurated 
by  Akbar.  He  endeavoured  to  bind  to  his  personal 
interest  a body  of  adventurers,  generally  of  low  de- 
scent, who  derived  their  power  and  affluence  solely 
from  their  sovereign,  who  ‘ raised  them  to  dignity 
or  degraded  them  to  obscurity  according  to  his  own 
pleasure  and  caprice.’ 

The  writings  of  European  travellers  are  full  of 
reference  to  these  ‘ Omrahs  ’ (amirs)  or  ‘ nobles,’  as 
they  call  them  — though  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  nobility  was  purely  official  and  had  no 
necessary  connexion  with  birth  or  hereditary  estates. 
In  Bernier’s  time  there  were  always  twenty-five  or 
thirty  of  the  highest  amirs  at  the  court,  drawing  sala- 
ries estimated  at  the  rate  of  one  thousand  to  twelve 
thousand  horse.  The  number  in  the  provinces  is 
not  stated,  but  must  have  been  great,  besides  in- 
numerable petty  vassals  of  less  than  a thousand 
horse,  of  whom  there  were  ‘ never  less  than  two 
or  three  hundred  at  court.’  The  troopers  who 
formed  the  following  of  the  amirs  and  mansabdars 
were  entitled  to  the  pay  of  25  rupees  a month  for 
each  horse,  but  did  not  always  get  it  from  their 
masters.  Two  horses  to  a man  formed  the  usual 
allowance,  for  a one-horsed  trooper  was  regarded  as 
little  better  than  a one-legged  man.  The  cavalry 
arm  supplied  by  the  amirs  and  lesser  vassals  and 
their  retainers  formed  the  chief  part  of  the  Moghul 
standing  army,  and,  including  the  troops  of  the 


378 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


Rajput  rajas,  who  were  also  in  receipt  of  an  imperial 
subsidy,  amounted  in  effective  strength  to  more  than 

200.000  in  Bernier’s  time  (1659-66),  of  whom  perhaps 

40.000  were  about  the  emperor’s  person.  The  regu- 
lar infantry  was  of  small  account ; the  musketeers 
could  only  fire  decently  ‘when  squatting  on  the 
ground,  and  resting  their  muskets  on  a kind  of 
wooden  fork  which  hangs  to  them,’  and  were  terribly 
afraid  of  burning  their  beards  or  bursting  their 
guns.  There  were  about  50,000  of  this  arm  about 
the  court,  besides  a larger  number  in  the  provinces; 
but  the  hordes  of  camp-followers,  sutlers,  grooms, 
traders  and  servants,  who  always  hung  about  the 
army,  and  were  often  absurdly  reckoned  as  part  of 
its  effective  strength,  gave  the  impression  of  an  in- 
fantry force  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  men- 
There  was  also  a small  park  of  artillery,  consisting 
partly  of  heavy  guns,  and  partly  of  lighter  pieces 
mounted  on  camels. 

The  emperor  kept  the  control  of  the  army  and 
nobles  in  his  own  hands  by  this  system  of  grants  of 
land  or  money  in  return  for  military  service  ; and  the 
civil  administration  was  gov^erned  on  the  same 
principle.  The  viansab  and  jagir  system  pervaded 
the  whole  empire.  The  govenors  of  provinces  were 
mansabdars,  and  received  grants  of  land  in  lieu  of 
salary  for  the  maintenance  of  their  state  and  their 
troops,  and  were  required  to  pay  about  a fifth  of  the 
revenue  to  the  emperor.  All  the  land  in  the  realm 
was  thus  parcelled  out  among  a number  of  tima- 
riots,  who  were  practically  absolute  in  their  own  dis- 
tricts, and  extorted  the  uttermost  farthing  from 


THE  OMR  AH S 


379 


the  wretched  peasantry  who  tilled  their  lands.  The 
only  exceptions  were  the  royal  demesnes,  and  these 
were  farmed  out  to  contractors  who  had  all  the  vices 
without  the  distinction  of  the  mansabdars.  As  it 
was  always  the  policy  of  the  Moghuls  to  shift  the 
vassal-lords  frequently  from  one  estate  to  another, 
in  order  to  prevent  their  acquiring  a permanent 
local  influence  and  prestige,  the  same  disastrous  re- 
sults ensued  as  in  the  precarious  appointments  of 
Turkey.  Each  governor  or  feudatory  sought  to 
extort  as  much  as  possible  out  of  his  province  or 


GOLD  COIN  OF  AURANGZIB,  STRUCK  AT  THATTA, 
A.H.  1072  (A.D.  1661-2). 


jagir,  in  order  to  have  capital  in  hand  when  he 
should  be  transplanted  or  deprived,  and  in  the  re- 
moter parts  of  the  empire  the  rapacity  of  the  land- 
holders went  on  almost  unchecked.  The  peasantry 
and  working  classes,  and  even  the  better  sort  of 
merchants,  used  every  precaution  to  hide  such  small 
prosperity  as  they  might  enjoy ; they  dressed  and 
lived  meanly,  and  suppressed  all  inclinations  to- 
wards social  ambitions. 

Whether  we  look  at  the  military  or  the  civil  side 
of  the  system,  the  Moghul  domination  in  India  was 
even  more  like  an  army  of  occupation  than  the 


38o 


MEDJAi  r.4  L INDIA 


‘ camp  ’ to  which  the  Ottoman  Empire  has  been 
compared.  As  Bernier  says,  ‘ The  Great  Moghul  is 
a foreigner  in  Hindustan  : he  finds  himself  in  a hos- 
tile country,  or  nearly  so ; a country  containing 
hundreds  of  Gentiles  to  one  Moghul,  or  even  to  one 
Mohammedan.’  Hence  his  large  armies;  his  net- 
work of  governors  and  landholders  dependent  upon 
him  alone  for  dignity  and  support ; hence,  too,  a 
policy  which  sacrificed  the  welfare  of  the  people  to 
the  supremacy  of  an  armed  minorit)’.  Yet  it  pre- 
served internal  peace  and  secured  the  authority  of 
the  throne,  and  we  read  of  few  disturbances  or 
insurrections  in  all  the  half-centur>'  of  Aurangzib’s 
reign.  Such  wars  as  were  waged  were  either  unim- 
portant campaigns  of  aggression  outside  the  normal 
limits  of  the  empire,  or  were  deliberately  provoked 
by  the  emperor’s  intolerance.  Mir  Jumla’s  disas- 
trous expedition  against  Assam  was  like  many  other 
attempts  to  subdue  the  north-east  frontagers  of 
India.  The  rains  and  the  guerrilla  tactics  of  the 
enemy  drove  the  IMoghul  army  to  despair,  and  its 
gallant  leader  died  on  his  return  in  the  spring  of 
1663.  The  war  in  Arakan  had  more  lasting  effects. 
That  kingdom  had  long  been  a standing  menace  to 
Bengal,  and  a cause  of  loss  and  dread  to  the  traders 
at  the  mouths  of  the  Ganges.  Every  kind  of  crimi- 
nal from  Goa  or  Ceylon,  Cochin  or  Malacca,  mostly 
Portuguese  or  half-castes,  flocked  to  Chittagong, 
where  the  king  of  Arakan,  delighted  to  welcome  any 
sort  of  allies  against  his  formidable  neighbour  the 
Moghul,  permitted  them  to  settle.  They  soon  de- 
veloped a busy  trade  in  piracy  ; ‘scoured  the  neigh- 


ARAA'AiV  PIRATES 


381 


bouring  seas  in  light  galleys,  called  galleasses,  en- 
tered the  numerous  arms  and  branches  of  the  Ganges, 
ravaged  the  islands  of  Lower  Bengal,  and,  often 
penetrating  forty  or  fifty  leagues  up  the  country, 
surprised  and  carried  away  the  entire  population  of 
villages.  The  marauders  made  slaves  of  their  un- 
happy captives,  and  burnt  whatever  could  not  be 
removed.”  The  Portuguese  at  Hugh  abetted  these 
rascals  by  purchasing  whole  cargoes  of  cheap  slaves, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  were  punished  by  Shah-Jahan, 
who  took  their  town  and  carried  the  relics  of  the 
population  as  prisoners  to  Agra  (1631).  But  though 
the  Portuguese  power  no  longer  availed  them,  the 
pirates  went  on  with  their  rapine,  and  carried  on 
operations  with  even  greater  vigour  from  the  island 
of  Sandip,  off  Chittagong,  where  ‘the  notorious  Fra 
Joan,  an  Augustinian  monk,  reigned  as  a petty 
sovereign  during  many  years,  having  contrived,  God 
knows  how,  to  rid  himself  of  the  governor  of  the 
island.’ 

When  Shayista  Khan,  Aurangzib’s  uncle,  came  as 
governor  to  Bengal  in  succession  to  Mir  Jumla,  he 
judged  it  high  time  to  put  a stop  to  these  exploits. 
The  pirates  submitted  to  the  summons  of  the  new 
viceroy  (1666),  backed  by  the  support  of  the  Dutch, 
who  were  pleased  to  diminish  the  failing  power  of 
Portugal.  The  bulk  of  the  freebooters  were  settled 
under  control  at  a place  a few  miles  below  Dhakka, 
hence  called  Firengi-bazar,  ‘the  mart  of  the  Franks,’ 
where  some  of  their  descendants  still  live.  Shayista 
then  sent  an  expedition  against  Arakan  and  annexed 
'Bernier,  174-182. 


382 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


it,  changing  the  name  of  Chittagong  into  Islama- 
bad, ‘ the  city  of  Islam.’  He  could  not  foresee  that 
in  suppressing  the  pirates  he  was  aiding  the  rise  of 
that  future  power  whose  humble  beginnings  were 
seen  in  the  little  factory  established  by  the  English 
at  the  Hugh  in  1640.  Twenty  years  after  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Portuguese,  Charnock  defeated  the 
local  militia,  and  in  1690  received  from  Aurangzib  a 
grant  of  land  at  Sutanati,  which  he  forthwith  cleared 
and  fortified.  Such  was  the  modest  foundation  of 
Calcutta. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  RUIN  OF  AURANGZIB 
THE  MARATHA  WAR 

1680-1707 

A PROFOUND  tranquility,  broken  by  no  re- 
bellion of  any  political  importance,  reigned 
throughout  northern  India  for  the  first  twenty  years 
of  Aurangzib’s  rule.'  So  far  there  had  been  no  serious 
persecution,  no  religious  disabilities  : but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  Aurangzib  was  only  nursing  his  zeal  for 
the  faith,  until  it  should  be  safe  to  display  it  against 
the  unbelievers.  Indeed  there  were  signs  of  the  com- 
ing storm  as  early  as  1669.  In  April  of  that  year  he 
was  informed  that  the  Brahmans  of  Benares  and 
other  Hindu  centres  were  in  the  habit  of  teaching 
their  ‘ wicked  sciences,’  not  only  to  their  own  people, 
but  to  Muslims.  This  was  more  than  the  orthodox 
emperor  could  tolerate ; the  temple  of  Vishnu  at 
Benares  was  destroyed,  and  the  splendid  shrine  at 
Mathura  razed  to  the  ground  to  make  room  for  a 

’The  following  pages  are  abridged  from  my  life  of  Aurangzib,  ch. 
viii-xii  (Clarendon  Press,  1893). 


383 


384 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


magnificent  mosque.  The  idols  were  brought  to  Agra 
and  buried  under  the  steps  of  the  mosque,  so  that 
good  Muslims  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  treading 
them  underfoot.  Three  years  later  the  fanaticism  of 
the  Hindus  found  vent  in  an  insurrection  in  Mewat 
of  four  or  five  thousand  devotees,  who  called  them- 
selves Satnamis,  which  gave  the  imperial  officers  no 
little  trouble  to  subdue.  The  neighbouring  Rajputs 
and  other  Hindus  began  to  become  infected  with 
the  spirit  of  rebellion,  and  every  day  saw  fresh  addi- 
tions to  the  strength  of  the  rioters.  The  Satnamis 
fought  with  the  courage  of  despair  and  the  exalta- 
tion of  martyrs,  but  the  end  was  not  doubtful: 
thousands  were  slain  ; and  the  revolt  was  suppressed. 

The  next  step  in  the  policy  of  persecution  was  the 
re-imposition  of  the  hated  jizya,  or  poll-tax  on  un- 
believers, a few  years  later.  In  vain  the  people 
wailed  and  cursed  around  the  palace.  Aurangzib 
had  by  this  time  abandoned  the  salutary  custom  of 
appearing  at  stated  hours  before  his  subjects  at  the 
levee  window:  the  adulation  of  the  multitude  sav- 
oured of  idolatry  to  his  puritanical  mind.  But 
seclude  himself  as  he  might  — and  thereby  lose  the 
sensitive  touch  of  the  populace  which  had  been  his 
father’s  strength  — he  could  not  shut  his  eyes  to  the 
uproar  which  the  new  enactment  excited.  When 
he  went  to  the  mosque,  crowds  of  expostulating  and 
even  riotous  Hindus  blocked  his  wa\’ ; and  though 
his  elephants  forced  their  path  over  their  bodies,  he 
could  not  subdue  their  repugnance  to  the  new  tax 
on  religion.  His  dealings  with  the  Rajput  princes 
kindled  these  sparks  of  discontent  into  a flame.  He 


RAJPUT  REVOLT 


385 


endeavoured  to  get  Jaswant  Singh’s  two  young 
sons  sent  to  Delhi  to  be  educated  (and  doubtless 
made  Muslims)  under  his  own  supervision.  The 
Rajputs’  loyalty  and  pride  alike  forbade  such  igno- 
miny to  their  hereditary  chiefs ; and  when  they 
learned  that  the  ancient  law  of  Mohammad  was  re- 
vived which  imposed  a tax  upon  every  soul  who  did 
not  conform  to  Islam  — a tax  which  Akbar  had  dis- 
dained, and  Shah-Jahan  had  not  dared  to  think  of — 
their  indignation  knew  no  bounds.  They  repudiated 
the  religious  tax,  and  they  contrived  to  spirit  away 
the  infant  princes  of  Marwar  out  of  the  emperor’s 
reach. 

It  was  the  first  serious  rebellion  during  the  reign, 
and  its  provoker  little  realized  the  effects  which  his 
fanatical  policy  would  produce.  He  marched  at 
once  upon  Rajputana,  where  he  found  two  out  of 
the  three  leading  States,  Udaipur  (Mewar)  and 
Jodhpur  (Marwar)  united  against  him,  and  only 
Raja  Ram  Singh  of  Jaipur  (Amber)  still  loyal  to  the 
empire.  The  Rajputs  kept  25,000  horse,  mostly 
Rahtors  of  Jodhpur,  in  the  field,  and  although  fre- 
quently driven  into  their  mountains  were  never 
really  subdued.  At  one  time  they  seemed  to  be 
at  the  point  of  a decisive  victory,  and  the  emperor’s 
cause  appeared  lost.  Directing  operations  from  Aj- 
mir,  he  had  placed  his  main  body  under  his  fourth 
son  Akbar,  at  the  same  time  calling  up  his  elder 
sons  Mu'azzam  and  A'zam  with  their  contingents 
from  their  commands  in  the  Deccan  and  Bengal. 
The  three  princes  were  busy  ravaging  the  Rajput 
country,  and  Aurangzib  was  left  at  Ajmir  with  hardly 


386 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


a thousand  men,  when  tidings  came  that  Prince  Ak- 
bar  had  been  seduced  by  the  diplomacy  of  the 
Rajput  leaders,  had  gone  over  with  the  main  army 
to  the  enemy,  and  proclaimed  himself  emperor  of 
India;  nay,  more,  he  was  now  marching  upon  his 
father  at  the  head  of  70,000  men.  But  the  prestige, 
or  the  diplomacy,  of  Aurangzib  was  more  than  a 
match  for  the  rebels.  The  Moghul  deserters  flocked 
back  to  the  imperial  standard  ; the  Rajput  army 
melted  away  ; and  Prince  Akbar,  with  a following  of 
500  men,  fled  to  the  Deccan,  whence  he  eventually 
sailed  for  Persia,  and  never  again  set  foot  in  the 
realm  of  his  fathers  (1681). 

The  Rajput  snake  was  scotched,  but  far  from 
killed.  The  insults  which  had  been  offered  to  their 
chiefs  and  their  religion,  the  ruthless  and  unneces- 
sary severity  of  Aurangzib’s  campaigns  in  their 
country,  left  a sore  which  never  healed.  The  war 
went  on.  The  Moghuls  ravaged  the  rich  lands  of 
Udaipur,  and  the  Rajputs  retaliated  by  pulling 
down  mosques  and  insulting  the  Muslims.  The 
cities  were  indeed  in  the  hands  of  Aurangzib,  but 
the  mountain  defiles  were  thronged  with  implacable 
foes,  who  lost  no  opportunity  of  dealing  a blow  at 
the  invaders.  The  rana  of  Udaipur,  the  chief  suf- 
ferer on  the  Rajput  side,  succeeded  at  last  in  making 
an  honourable  peace  with  the  emperor,  who  was 
tired  of  the  struggle  and  anxious  to  give  his  whole 
mind  to  the  affairs  of  the  Deccan.  But  while  the 
treaty  enabled  Aurangzib  to  beat  a fairly  creditable 
retreat,  it  did  not  appease  the  indignant  Rajputs  of 
the  west;  even  the  rana  of  Udaipur  soon  rode  his 


RAJPUT  REVOLT 


387 


elephants  through  the  treaty ; and  all  Rajputana, 
save  Jaipur  and  the  eastern  parts,  was  perpetually 
in  a state  of  revolt  until  the  end  of  the  reign.  7h«- 
tum  religio  potuit ! But  for  his  tax  upon  heresy, 
and  his  interference  with  their  inborn  sense  of  dig- 
nity and  honour,  Aurangzib  might  have  still  kept 
the  Rajputs  by  his  side  as  priceless  allies  in  the  long 
struggle  in  which  he  was  now  to  engage  in  the  Dec- 
can.  As  it  was,  he  alienated  them  forever.  So  long 
as  the  great  Puritan  sat  on  the  throne  of  Akbar,  not 
a Rajput  would  stir  a finger  to  save  him.  Aurangzib 
had  to  fight  his  southern  foes  with  the  loss  of  his 
right  arm. 

‘ Delhi  is  distant,’  says  an  old  Deccan  proverb, 
and  many  an  Indian  king  has  realized  its  force  when 
grappling  with  the  ineradicable  contumacy  of  his 
southern  province.  The  Deccan  (Dakhin,  Dak-han, 
‘ the  South’)  was  never  intended  by  nature  to  have 
any  connexion  with  Hindustan.  The  Vindhya  and 
Satpura  mountains  and  the  Narbada  river  form  a 
triple  line  of  natural  bar'-icades,  which  divide  the 
high  table-land  of  Central  India  from  the  plains  of 
the  Ganges  and  its  tributaries,  and  should  have 
warned  the  sovereigns  of  Delhi  that  it  was  wiser  to 
keep  to  their  own  country.  But  the  Deccan  lands 
were  fertile;  their  wealth  in  diamonds  and  gold  was 
fabulous;  and  every  great  ruler  of  the  northern 
plains  has  turned  his  eyes  to  the  mountain  barriers 
and  longed  to  enter  the  land  of  promise  beyond. 
They  entered,  however,  at  their  peril.  To  conquer 
the  Deccan  was  risking  the  loss  of  Hindustan ; for 
he  who  invaded  the  southern  people  who  dwelt 


388 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


between  the  Ghats  was  but  teaching  them  the  road 
to  the  north. 

The  affairs  of  the  Deccan  were  no  new  thing  to  a 
prince  who  had  twice  been  viceroy  there,  but  some 
years  passed  before  the  initial  difficulties  of  settling 
his  kingdom  left  the  new  emperor  leisure  to  attend 
to  the  southern  province.  Meanwhile  a new  power 
had  arisen,  a power  which  sprang  from  such  needy 
and  insignificant  beginnings  that  no  one  could  have 
foretold  its  future  malignant  domination.  The  Ma- 
rathas  began  to  make  themselves  felt. 

This  notorious  Hindu  people  inhabited  the  country 
lying  between  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  river  War- 
da  ; their  northern  boundary  was  the  Satpura  range, 
and  on  the  west  coast  they  extended  as  far  south  as 
Goa.  Their  strength  lay  in  the  inaccessible  fast- 
nesses of  the  Western  Ghats,  which  climb  precipit- 
ously to  the  great  plateau  that  stretches  right  across 
the  Deccan  to  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  Between  the 
Ghats  and  the  sea  lies  the  Konkan,  where  deep 
valleys  and  torrent-beds  lead  from  the  rocks  and 
forests  of  the  mountain  ridge  to  the  fertile  plains  of 
the  humid  tract  near  the  sea,  where  the  torrents 
merge  in  sandy  creeks  among  thickets  of  mangroves. 
The  Ghats  and  the  Konkan  were  the  safe  retreats  of 
wild  beasts  and  wiry  Marathas. 

These  people  had  never  made  any  mark  in  history 
before  the  reign  of  Shah-Jahan.  They  were  peaceful 
frugal  husbandmen,  like  the  mass  of  the  lower  orders 
of  Hindus,  and  gave  no  trouble.  Their  chiefs,  or 
village  headmen,  were  Sudras,  of  the  lowest  of  the 
four  castes,  like  their  people,  though  they  pretended 


SIVAJl  THE  MARATHA 


389 


to  connect  themselves  with  the  noble  caste  of  Ksha- 
triyas.  In  the  silent  times  of  peace,  the  Marathas 
enjoyed  the  happiness  of  the  nation  that  has  no 
history.  War  brought  out  their  dormant  capacities, 
and  their  daggers  soon  cut  tlieir  name  deep  in  the 
annals  of  India.  The  king  of  Bijapur  was  responsible 
for  educating  this  hardy  race  for  their  career  of 
rapine.  They  formed  a large  proportion  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  their  language,  an  offshoot  of  Sanskrit, 
became  the  official  script  of  the  revenue  department 
of  his  kingdom.  Gradually  they  came  to  be  em- 
ployed in  his  army,  first  in  garrison  duty,  and  then 
in  the  light  cavalry,  a branch  of  service  for  which 
they  displayed  extraordinary  aptitude.  Some  of 
them  rose  to  offices  of  importance  at  Bijapur  and 
Golkonda.  One  of  these  officers,  Shahji  Bhosla, 
once  a rebel  against  Shah-Jahan  in  the  Konkan 
(1634)  and  afterwards  governor  of  Poona  and  Banga- 
lore, was  the  father  of  Sivaji,  the  founder  of  the 
Maratha  power. 

Sivaji  was  eight  years  younger  than  his  great  ad- 
versary Aurangzib.  He  was  brought  up  at  Poona, 
where  he  was  noted  for  his  courage  and  shrewdness. 
He  mixed  with  the  wild  highlanders  of  the  neigh- 
bouring Ghats,  and,  listening  to  their  native  ballads 
and  tales  of  adventure,  soon  fell  in  love  with  their 
free  and  reckless  mode  of  life,  and  learned  every 
turn  and  path  of  the  Konkan.  He  found  that  the  hill 
forts  were  miserably  garrisoned  by  the  Bijapur  gov- 
ernment, and  he  resolved  upon  seizing  them  and  in- 
augurating an  era  of  brigandage  on  an  heroic  scale. 
He  began  by  surprising  the  castle  of  Torna,  some 


390 


MEDUEVAL  LYDIA 


twenty  miles  from  Poona,  and  after  adding  fortress 
to  fortress  at  the  expense  of  the  Bijapur  kingdom, 
without  attracting  much  notice,  crowned  his  iniquity 
in  1648  by  making  a convoy  of  royal  treasure  ‘bail 
up,’  and  by  occupying  the  whole  of  the  northern 
Konkan.  Presently  his  rule  extended  on  the  sea 
coast  from  Kaliani  in  the  north  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Portuguese  Goa,  a distance  of  over  250 
miles ; east  of  the  Ghats  it  reached  to  Mirich  on  the 
Krishna ; and  its  breadth  in  some  parts  was  as  much 
as  TOO  miles.  It  was  not  a vast  dominion,  but  it 
supported  an  army  of  over  50,000  men,  and  it  had 
been  built  up  with  incredible  patience  and  daring. 

He  had  no  anxiety  on  the  score  of  his  eastern 
neighbour,  the  King  of  Bijapur,  whose  troops  he 
routed  and  whose  lands  he  plundered  at  his  will ; 
and  he  now  longed  for  fresh  fields  of  rapine.  The 
Hindus  had  become  his  friends,  or  bought  his  favour, 
and  offered  few  occasions  for  pillage.  He  therefore 
turned  to  the  Moghul  territory  to  the  north,  and 
pushed  his  raids  almost  to  the  gates  of  Auranga- 
bad, the  ‘ Throne  City.’  Several  times  Aurangzib 
changed  his  generals,  but  still  the  indomitable  Ma- 
rathas  baffled  their  skill,  surprised  their  quarters, 
sacked  Surat  — though  Sir  George  Oxenden  beat 
them  off  the  English  factory  — and  even  stopped 
the  ships  full  of  pilgrims  for  Mekka  that  were  sailing 
from  the  port.  For  a moment  indeed  there  was 
peace.  Serious  losses  induced  Sivaji  to  make  terms 
and  even  to  appear  at  Delhi  as  the  emperor’s  vassal. 
The  sturdy  little  ‘ mountain  rat  ’ however  was  out 
of  his  element  at  the  splendid  court  of  the  Great 


3QI  the  mihtar-i-mahai.l  at  bijaeur. 


392 


MEDI^.VAL  INDIA 


Moghul,  and  Aurangzib  treated  him  with  undis- 
guised contempt.  Seldom  was  political  sagacity 
more  at  fault.  The  rude  highlander,  who  might 
have  been  converted  into  a powerful  prop  of  the 
empire  in  the  Deccan,  was  allowed  to  escape  in 
disguise,  affronted  and  enraged,  to  resume  his  old 
sway  in  the  mountains  (1666).  Too  late  the  emperor 
attempted  conciliation:  the  old  antagonist  had  be- 
come a personal  enemy,  and  nothing  could  sooth 
his  resentment.  His  return  to  the  Deccan  was 
followed  by  a series  of  triumphs.  Surat  was  again 
sacked  (1671),  and  the  Maratha  swarms  spread 
southerly  past  Madras  to  Tanjore,  levying  black- 
mail wherever  they  went.  Just  as  he  was  meditating 
still  greater  aggrandizement,  a sudden  illness  put  an 
end  to  his  extraordinary  career  in  1680,  when  he 
was  not  quite  fifty-three  years  of  age.  The  date  of 
his  death  is  found  in  the  words  Kafir  ba  jahannam. 
rafit,  ‘ The  Infidel  went  to  Hell.’ ' 

‘Sivaji  always  strove  to  maintain  the  honour  of 
the  people  in  his  territories,’  says  a Mohammedan 
historian.  ‘ He  persisted  in  rebellion,  plundering 
caravans,  and  troubling  mankind  ; but  he  was  abso- 
lutely guiltless  of  baser  sins,  and  was  scrupulous  of 
the  honour  of  women  and  children  of  the  Muslims 
when  they  fell  into  his  hands.’  Aurangzib  himself 
admitted  that  his  foe  was  ‘a  great  captain’;  and 
added,  ‘ My  armies  have  been  employed  against  him 

' Khafi  Khan  is  proud  to  be  the  discoverer  of  this  chronogram. 
It  is,  of  course,  to  be  interpreted  by  the  numerical  values  of  the 
consonants:  K 20,  Alif  i,  F 80,  R 200,  B 2,  J 3,  H 5,  N N 50,  50, 
R 200,  F 80,  T 400  = 1091  A.  H.  (1680). 


THE  MARATHAS 


393 


for  nineteen  years,  and  nevertheless  his  state  has 
always  been  increasing.’ 

The  great  captain  was  dead,  but  his  spirit  lived  in 
the  nation  he  had  created.  Aurangzib  never  fully 
realized  the  strength  of  a nation  of  freebooters  or 
the  intolerable  weariness  of  guerrilla  warfare,  but  he 
at  least  saw  that  the  time  had  come  to  trust  no 
more  generals  but  to  take  the  quarrel  into  his  own 
hands.  At  the  close  of  i68i  he  arrived  at  Burhan- 
pur,  and  took  command  of  the  army.  The  emperor’s 
first  step  was  to  endeavour  to  strike  awe  into  the 
Marathas  by  sending  his  sons  to  scour  the  country. 
The  enemy  offered  no  opposition,  and  left  their 
rugged  country  to  punish  the  invaders.  Prince 
Mu'azzam  accordingly  marched  through  the  whole 
Konkan,  and  laid  it  waste,  and  when  he  reached  the 
end  he  found  that  he  had  hardly  a horse  fit  to  carry 
him,  and  that  his  men  were  marching  afoot,  half- 
starving.  The  enemy  had  cut  down  the  grass,  so 
that  no  fodder  could  be  obtained,  and  when  the 
Moghuls  tried  to  victual  the  army  by  sea,  the  enemy 
intercepted  the  corn-ships.  The  rocks  and  forests 
of  the  Ghats  had  been  quite  as  destructive  to  the 
cavalry  as  the  spears  of  the  Marathas.  Fighting 
torrents  and  precipices,  and  enduring  an  unhealthy 
climate  and  scarcity  of  food,  was  an  unprofitable 
business  ; and  the  princes  were  ordered  to  converge 
upon  Bijapur,  whilst  Aurangzib  pushed  forward  to 
Ahmadnagar. 

As  soon  as  the  enemy’s  back  was  turned,  Sivaji’s 
son,  Sambhaji,  swiftly  led  his  active  little  horsemen 
behind  their  flank,  and  crossing  over  to  Khandesh 


394 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


burned  Burhanpur  and  set  the  whole  countryside  in 
a blaze.  Before  the  Moghuls  could  get  at  them, 
they  were  safe  again  in  their  fastnesses  in  the  Ghats. 
The  stroke  is  typical  of  Maratha  warfare.  They 
nev'er  risked  an  engagement  in  the  open  field  unless 
numbers  made  victory  sure.  When  the  heavy 
Moghul  cavalry  attacked  them,  these  hardy  little 
warriors,  mounted  on  wiry  steeds  as  inured  to  fatigue 
as  themselves  and  splendidly  broken  in  for  their 
tactics,  would  instantly  scatter  in  all  directions,  and 
observe  the  enemy  from  a neighbouring  hill  or  wood, 
ready  to  cut  off  solitary  horsemen,  or  surprise  small 
parties  in  ambush  ; and  then,  if  the  pursuers  gave  up 
the  useless  chase,  in  a moment  the  Marathas  were 
upon  them,  hanging  on  their  flanks,  dispatching 
stragglers,  and  firing  at  close  quarters  into  the  un- 
wieldy mass.  To  fight  such  people  was  to  do  battle 
with  the  air  or  to  strike  blows  upon  water.  The 
Moghul  might  hold  as  much  ground  as  his  camp  and 
cities  covered,  but  the  rest  of  the  Deccan  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  i\Iarathas. 

Aurangzib’s  plan  seems  to  have  been,  first,  to  cut 
off  the  Marathas’  funds  by  exterminating  the  king- 
doms of  Golkonda  and  Bijapur,  which  paid  blackmail 
to  the  brigands  ; and  then  to  ferret  the  ‘mountain 
rats’  out  of  their  holes.  The  first  part  of  his  pro- 
gramme was  the  less  difficult.  The  old  Deccan 
kingdoms  were  in  no  condition  to  offer  serious  resis- 
tance to  Aurangzib’s  Grand  Army.  They  might 
have  been  annexed  long  before,  but  for  the  selfish 
indolence  of  the  Moghul  generals.  The  Bijapuris 
indeed  resorted  to  their  usual  tactics : laid  waste 


THE  GREAT  MOSQUE  OF  BIJAPUR. 


396 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


all  the  country  round  the  capital  till  the  Moghul 
army  was  half  famished,  and  then  hovered  about  its 
flanks  and  harassed  its  movements  with  a pertinacity 
worthy  of  Sivaji  himself.  In  August,  1685,  however, 
Aurangzib  in  person  took  command  of  the  siege. 
Under  his  searching  eye  the  work  of  intrenching 
and  mining  round  the  six  miles  of  ramparts  went  on 
heartily.  A close  blockade  was  established,  and  at 
last  after  more  than  a year’s  labour  Bijapur 
was  starved  out  in  November,  1686.  The  old  cap- 
ital of  the  Adil  Shahs,  once  full  of  splendid  palaces, 
became  the  home  of  the  owl  and  jackal.  It  stands 
yet,  a melancholy,  silent  ruin.  Its  beautiful  mosques 
still  raise  their  minarets  above  the  stone  walls,  which 
are  even  now  so  inviolate  that  one  might  fancy  one 
gazed  upon  a living  city.  Within,  all  is  solitude  and 
desolation.  The  ‘Visiapur’  which  astounded  so 
many  travellers  by  its  wealth  and  magnificence,  w^as 
trampled  under  the  foot  of  the  j^uritan  emperor,  and 
fell  to  rise  no  more. 

Golkonda  soon  felt  the  loss  of  its  protecting  sister. 
It  had  always  pushed  forward  its  neighbour  as  a 
buffer  to  deaden  the  shock  of  the  Moghul  assaults. 
It  had  secretly  subsidized  Bijapur  to  enable  it  to 
defend  itself  against  the  Moghuls,  and  at  the  same 
time  bribed  the  imperial  ofiflcers  to  attack  Bijapur 
rather  than  itself.  In  spite  of  its  ingenuity,  Gol- 
konda had  been  forced  to  bow  the  knee  before 
Aurangzib  in  1656,  and  had  been  growing  more  and 
more  demoralized  in  the  quarter  of  a century  which 
had  rolled  by  uneasily  since  then.  Prince  Mo'azzam 
besieged  the  capital  in  a half-hearted  way  in  1685, 


SIEGE  OF  GOLKONDA 


397 


and  then  to  his  father’s  disgust  consented  to  a treaty 
of  peace.  Nevertheless  Aurangzib  resolved  to  make 
an  end  of  the  Kutb  Shah  dynasty.  Under  cover  of 
a pilgrimage  to  a holy  shrine,  he  marched  to  Kul- 
barga,  half-way  to  Golkonda.  His  hostile  intentions 
were  unmistakable.  The  wretched  king,  Abu-1- 
Hasan,  knew  that  his  fall  was  at  hand.  In  vain  he 
sent  submissive  messages  to  the  emperor  and  laid 
his  humble  protestations  of  obedience  at  his  feet : 
Aurangzib  was  relentless,  and  seeing  that  there  was 
no  hope  of  mercy  the  king  of  Golkonda  prepared  to 
die  like  a soldier.  He  cast  off  his  sloth  and  luxury 
of  life,  and  set  about  ordering  his  army  and  making 
ready  for  the  siege  of  his  citadel. 

In  January,  1687,  the  enemy  took  ground  at  gun- 
shot range,  and  the  leaguer  began.  Abu-l-Hasan 
had  forty  or  fifty  thousand  horse  outside  the  walls, 
which  continually  harassed  the  engineers,  and  the 
garrison  plied  their  cannon  and  rockets  with  deadly 
effect  upon  the  trenches.  The  defence  was  heroic ; 
frequent  and  furious  were  the  sallies;  the  fortress 
was  well  found  in  ammunition  and  25i'ovisions,  and  a 
ceaseless  fire  was  kept  up  night  and  day  from  the 
gates  and  ramparts.  At  last  the  lines  were  pushed 
up  to  the  fosse,  and  Aurangzib  himself  sewed  the 
first  sack  that  was  to  be  filled  with  earth  and  thrown 
into  the  ditch.  Heavy  guns  were  mounted  on  earth- 
works to  keep  back  the  defenders,  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  scale  the  walls  by  night.  Some  of  the 
besiegers  had  already  gained  the  ramparts,  when  a 
dog  gave  the  alarm,  and  the  garrison  sjaeedily  dis- 
patched the  climbers  and  threw  down  the  ladders. 


398 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


Meanwhile  famine  was  reducing  the  Moghul  army 
to  extremities.  The  friends  of  Golkonda,  and 
especially  the  Marathas  of  ‘ that  hell-dog’  Sambhaji, 
laid  the  country  waste ; the  season  was  dry,  and 
there  was  a terrible  scarcity  of  rice,  grain,  and  fodder. 
Plague  broke  out  in  the  camp,  and  many  of  the 
soldiers,  worn  out  with  hunger  and  misery,  deserted 
to  the  enemy.  When  the  rain  came  at  last,  it  fell  in 
torrents  for  three  days,  and  washed  away  much  of 
the  entrenchments : upon  which  the  besieged  sallied 
out  in  force  and  killed  many  of  the  Moghuls,  and 
took  prisoners.  The  occasion  seemed  favourable  for 
overtures  of  peace.  Abu-l-Hasan  showed  his  prison- 
ers the  heaps  of  corn  and  treasure  in  the  fort,  and 
offered  to  pay  an  indemnity,  and  to  supply  the 
besieging  army  with  grain,  if  the  siege  were  raised. 
Aurangzib’s  answer  was  full  of  his  old  proud  inflex- 
ible resolve:  ‘Abu-l-Hasan  must  come  to  me  with 

clasped  hands,  or  he  shall  come  bound  : I will  then 
consider  what  mercy  I can  show  him.’  Forthwith 
he  ordered  50,000  fresh  sacks  from  Berar  to  fill  the 
moat. 

Where  courage  and  perseverance  failed,  treason 
succeeded.  Mines  and  assaults  had  been  vainly 
tried  against  the  heroic  defenders  of  Golkonda: 
money  and  promises  at  last  won  the  day.  Many  of 
the  nobles  of  the  city  had  from  time  to  time  gone 
over  to  the  besiegers,  and  at  length  a bribe  admitted 
the  enemy.  The  Moghuls  poured  into  the  fortress 
and  raised  a shout  of  triumph.  The  only  faithful 
amir,  Abd-ar-Razzak,  heard  it,  and  leaping  on  a 
bare-backed  horse,  followed  by  a dozen  retainers. 


FALL  OF  GOLKONDA 


399 


galloped  to  the  gate,  through  which  the  enemy  were 
rushing.  Covered  with  blood  and  reeling  in  his  sad- 
dle, he  fought  his  way  out,  and  they  found  him  next 
day  lying  senseless  under  a cocoa-nut  tree,  with  more 
than  seventy  wounds.' 

Meanwhile  the  king  had  heard  the  shouts  and 
groans,  and  knew  that  his  hour  was  come.  He  went 
into  the  harim  and  tried  to  comfort  the  women,  and 
then  asking  their  pardon  for  his  faults  he  bade  them 
farewell,  and  taking  his  seat  in  the  audience  chamber 
waited  calmly  for  his  unbidden  guests.  He  would 
not  suffer  his  dinner  hour  to  be  postponed  for  such 
a trifle  as  the  Moghul  conquest.  When  the  officers 
of  Aurangzib  appeared,  he  saluted  them  as  became 
a king,  and  spoke  to  them  in  choice  Persian.  He 
then  called  for  his  horse  and  rode  with  them  to 
Prince  A'zam,  who  presented  him  to  Aurangzib. 
The  Great  Moghul  treated  him  with  grave  courtesy, 
as  king  to  king,  for  the  gallantry  of  his  defence  of 
Golkonda  atoned  for  his  many  sins  of  the  past. 
Then  he  was  sent  a prisoner  to  Daulatabad,  where 
his  ally  of  Bijapur  was  already  a captive,  and  both 

' He  was  the  hero  of  the  siege.  Aurangzib  said  that  had  Abu-1- 
Hasan  possessed  but  one  more  servant  as  loyal  as  this,  the  contest 
might  have  gone  on  much  longer.  He  sent  a European  and  a Hindu 
surgeon  to  attend  to  the  wounded  man,  and  rejoiced  when  after 
sixteen  days  he  at  last  opened  his  eyes.  He  showered  favours  upon 
the  hero’s  sons,  but  nothing  could  shake  the  loyalty  of  the  father. 
Lying  on  his  sick  bed,  he  said  that  ‘ no  man  who  had  eaten  salt  of 
Abu-l-Hasan  could  enter  the  service  of  Aurangzib.’  Among  the 
universal  self-seeking  of  the  Moghul  Court  such  faithfulness  was 
rare  indeed,  and  no  one  honoured  it  more  sincerely  than  the  em- 
peror who  had  never  been  disloyal  to  his  standard  of  duty. 


400 


medieval  INDIA 


their  dynasties  disappear  from  history,  Aurangzib 
appropriated  some  seven  millions  sterling  from  the 
royal  property  of  Golkonda. 

With  the  conquest  of  Golkonda  and  Bijapur,  Au- 
rangzib considered  himself  master  of  the  Deccan. 
\ et  the  direct  result  of  this  destruction  of  the  only 
powers  that  made  for  order  and  some  sort  of  settled 
government  in  the  peninsula  was  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  Marathas.  The  majority  of  the  vanq- 
uished armies  naturally  joined  them  and  adopted 


GOLD  COIN  OF  AURANGZIB,  STRUCK  AT  BIJAPUR, 
A.H.  logg  (a.d.  1687-8). 


the  calling  of  the  road.  The  local  officials  set  them- 
selves up  as  petty  sovereigns,  and  gave  the  brigands 
support  as  the  party  most  likely  to  promote  a golden 
age  of  plunder.  Thus  the  bulk  of  the  population  of 
the  two  dissolved  states  went  to  swell  the  power  of 
Sambhaji  and  his  highlanders,  and  the  disastrous 
results  of  this  revolution  in  Deccan  politics  were  felt 
for  more  than  a century. 

At  first  indeed  Aurangzib’s  armies  seemed  to 
carry  all  before  them,  and  the  work  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  whole  territory  of  the  vanished  kingdoms 
even  as  far  south  as  Mysore,  was  swiftly  accom- 
plished. Sivaji’s  brother  was  hemmed  in  at  Tanjore, 


DEGENERACY  OF  MOGHULS 


401 


and  the  Marathas  were  everywhere  driven  away  to 
their  mountain  forts.  To  crown  these  successes,  Sam- 
bhaji  was  captured  by  some  enterprising  Moghuls 
at  a moment  of  careless  self-indulgence.  Brought 
before  Aurangzib,  he  displayed  his  talents  for  vitu- 
peration and  blasphemy  to  such  a degree  that  he 
was  put  to  death  with  circumstances  of  exceptional 
barbarity  (1689).  The  brigands  were  awed  for  a 
while  by  the  commanding  personality  and  irresist- 
ible force  of  the  Great  Moghul.  He  had  accomplished 
a military  occupation  not  merely  of  the  Deccan,  but 
of  the  whole  peninsula,  save  the  extreme  point 
south  of  Trichinopoly  and  the  marginal  possessions 
of  the  Portuguese  and  other  foreigners.  Military 
occupation,  however,  was  not  enough ; he  would 
make  the  southern  provinces  an  integral  part  of  his 
settled  empire,  as  finally  and  organically  a member 
of  it  as  the  Panjab  or  Bengal.  With  this  aim  he 
stayed  on  and  on,  till  hope  and  will,  unquenchable 
in  life,  were  stilled  in  death.  The  exasperating 
struggle  lasted  seventeen  years  after  the  execution 
of  Sambhaji  and  the  capture  of  his  chief  stronghold  : 
and  at  the  end  success  was  as  far  off  as  ever. 

The  explanation  of  this  colossal  failure  is  to  be 
found  partly  in  the  contrast  between  the  characters 
of  the  invaders  and  the  defenders.  Had  the  Mo- 
ghuls been  the  same  hardy  warriors  that  Babar  led 
from  the  valleys  of  the  Hindu  Kush,  or  had  the 
Rajputs  been  the  loyal  protagonists  who  had  so 
often  courted  destruction  in  their  devoted  service 
of  earlier  emperors,  the  Marathas  would  have  been 
allowed  but  a short  shrift.  But  Aurangzib  had 

26 


402 


MEDIAEVAL  IND/A 


alienated  the  Rajputs  for  ever,  and  they  would  not 
risk  their  lives  for  him  in  exterminating  a people  who 
were  after  all  Hindus,  however  inferior  to  them- 
selves in  caste  and  dignity.  As  for  the  Moghuls, 
three  or  four  generations  of  court-life  had  ruined 
their  ancient  manliness,  Babar  would  have  scorned 
to  command  such  officers  as  surrounded  Aurangzib 
in  his  gigantic  camp  at  Bairampur.  Instead  of 
hardy  swordsmen,  they  had  become  padded  dandies. 
They  were  adorned  for  a procession,  when  they 
should  have  been  in  rough  campaigning  outfit. 
Their  camp  was  as  splendid  and  luxurious  as  if  they 
were  on  guard  at  the  palace  of  Delhi.  The  very 
rank  and  file  grumbled  if  their  tents  were  not  fur- 
nished as  comfortably  as  in  quarters  at  Agra,  and 
their  requirements  attracted  an  immense  crowd  of 
camp  followers,  twenty  times  as  numerous  as  the 
effective  strength.  So  vast  a host  was  like  a plague 
of  locusts  in  the  country:  it  devoured  everything; 
and  though  at  times  it  was  richly  provisioned,  at 
others  the  Marathas  cut  off  communications  with  the 
base  of  supplies  in  the  north,  and  a famine  speedily 
ensued. 

The  Marathas,  on  the  other  hand,  cared  nothing 
for  luxuries:  a cake  of  millet  sufficed  them  for  a 
meal,  with  perhaps  an  onion  for  ‘point.’  They  de- 
fended a fort  to  the  last,  and  then  defended  another 
fort.  They  were  pursued  from  place  to  place,  but 
were  never  daunted,  and  they  filled  up  the  intervals 
of  sieges  by  harassing  the  Moghul  armies,  stopping 
convoys  of  supplies,  and  laying  the  country  waste  in 
the  path  of  the  enemy.  There  was  no  bringing  them 


ENERGY  OF  AURANGZIB 


403 


to  a decisive  engagement.  It  was  one  long  series  of 
petty  victories  followed  by  larger  losses.  Nothing 
was  gained  that  was  worth  the  labour;  the  Marathas 
became  increasingly  objects  of  dread  to  the  demor- 
alized Moghul  army;  and  the  country,  exasperated 
by  the  sufferings  of  a prolonged  occupation  by  an 
alien  and  licentious  soldiery,  became  more  and  more 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  intrepid  bandits,  which 
they  identified  as  their  own. 

The  marvellous  thing  about  this  wearisome  cam- 
paign of  twenty  years  is  the  way  in  which  the  brave 
old  emperor  endured  its  many  hardships  and  disap- 
pointments. It  was  he  who  planned  every  cam- 
paign, issued  all  the  general  orders,  selected  the 
points  for  attack  and  the  lines  of  entrenchment,  and 
controlled  every  movement  of  his  various  divisions 
in  the  Deccan.  He  conducted  many  of  the  sieges 
in  person,  and  when  a mine  exploded  among  the 
besiegers  at  Sattara,  in  1699,  and  general  despond- 
ency fell  on  the  army,  the  octogenarian  mounted  his 
horse  and  rode  to  the  scene  of  disaster  ‘ as  if  in 
search  of  death.’  He  piled  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
into  a human  ravelin,  and  was  with  difficulty  pre- 
vented from  leading  the  assault  himself.  He  was 
still  the  man  who  had  chained  his  elephant  at  the 
battle  of  Samugarh  forty  years  before.  Nor  was 
his  energy  confined  to  the  overwhelming  anxieties  of 
the  war.  His  orders  extended  to  affairs  in  Afghan- 
istan and  disturbances  at  Agra ; he  even  thought 
of  retaking  Kandahar.  Not  an  officer,  not  a gov- 
ernment clerk,  was  appointed  without  his  know- 
ledge, and  the  conduct  of  the  whole  official  staff 


404 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


was  vigilantly  scrutinized  with  the  aid  of  an  army 
of  spies. 

We  are  fortunate  in  possessing  a portrait  ’ of  Au- 
rangzib,  as  he  appeared  in  the  midst  of  his  Deccan 
campaigns.  On  Monday  the  2ist  of  March,  1695, 
Dr.  Gemelli  Careri  was  admitted  to  an  audience  of 
the  emperor  in  his  quarters,  called  ‘ Gulalbar,’  at  the 
camp  of  Galgala.  He  saw  an  old  man  with  a white 
beard,  trimmed  round,  contrasting  vividly  with  his 
olive  skin  ; ‘ he  was  of  low  stature,  with  a large  nose  ; 
slender  and  stooping  with  age.’  Sitting  upon  rich 
carpets,  and  leaning  against  gold-embroidered  cush- 
ions, he  received  the  Neopolitan  courteously,  asked 
his  business  in  the  camp,  and  being  told  of  Careri’s 
travels  in  Turkey,  made  inquiries  about  the  war 
then  raging  between  the  Sultan  and  the  princes  of 
Hungary.  The  doctor  saw  him  again  at  the  public  au- 
dience in  a great  tent  pitched  within  a court  enclosed 
by  screens  of  painted  calico.  The  Moghul  appeared 
leaning  on  a crutched  staff,  preceded  by  several 
nobles.  He  was  simply  dressed  in  a white  robe  tied 
under  the  right  arm  with  a silk  sash  from  which  his 
dagger  hung.  On  his  head  was  a white  turban 
bound  with  a gold  web,  ‘ on  which  an  emeraud  of  a 
vast  bigness  appear’d  amidst  four  little  ones.  His 
shoes  were  after  the  Moorish  fashion,  and  his  legs 
naked  without  hose.’  He  took  his  seat  upon  a 
square  gilt  throne  raised  two  steps  above  the  dais, 
inclosed  with  silver  banisters ; three  brocaded  pillows 
formed  the  sides  and  back,  and  in  front  was  a little 

’ Gemelli  Careri,  Voyage  Round  the  World,  Churchill  Coll.,  iv. 
222,  223. 


A LONELY  SOUL 


405 


silver  footstool.  Over  his  head  a servant  held  a 
green  umbrella  to  keep  off  the  sun,  whilst  two  others 
whisked  the  flies  away  with  long  white  horsetails. 
‘When  he  was  seated  they  gave  him  his  scimitar  and 
buckler,  which  he  laid  down  on  his  left  side  wdthin 
the  throne.  Then  he  made  a sign  with  his  hand  for 
those  that  had  business  to  draw  near ; who  being 
come  up,  two  secretaries,  standing,  took  their  peti- 
tions, which  they  delivered  to  the  king,  telling  him 
the  contents.  I admir’d  to  see  him  indorse  them 
with  his  own  hand,  without  spectacles,  and  by  his 
cheerful  smiling  countenance  seemed  to  be  pleased 
with  the  employment.’ 

It  is  a striking  picture  of  the  vigorous  old  age  of 
one  who  allowed  no  faculty  of  his  active  mind  to 
rust,  no  spring  of  his  spare  frame  to  relax.  But  be- 
hind that  serene  mask  lay  a gloomy,  lonely  soul. 
It  was  the  tragical  fate  of  the  Moghul  emperor  to 
live  and  die  alone.  Solitary  state  was  the  heritage 
of  his  rank,  and  his  natural  bent  of  mind  widened 
the  breach  that  severed  him  from  those  around  him. 
The  fate  of  Shah-Jahan  preyed  upon  his  mind.  He 
was  wont  to  remind  his  sons  that  he  was  not  one  to 
be  treated  as  he  had  used  his  own  father.  His 
eldest  son  had  paid  the  penalty  of  his  brief  and 
flighty  treason  by  a life-long  captivity;  and  Aurang- 
zib  had  early  impressed  the  lesson  upon  the  second 
brother.  ‘The  art  of  reigning,’  he  told  Mu‘azzam, 
‘is  so  delicate,  that  a king  must  be  jealous  of  his 
own  shadow.  Be  wise,  or  a fate  like  your  brother’s 
will  befall  you  also.’  Mu‘azzam  had  been  docility 
personified,  but  his  father’s  restless  suspicion  was 


4o6 


M EDI  MV  A L INDIA 


aroused  more  than  once,  and  he  endured  a rigorous 
captivity  for  seven  years  (1687-94).  On  his  release, 
another  brother,  A'zam,  became  in  turn  the  object 
of  jealousy,  and  it  is  said  that  he  never  received  a 
letter  from  his  father  without  turning  pale.  One 
son  after  another  was  tried  and  found  wanting. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  life  the  jealous  father  was 
drawn  closer  to  his  youngest  son,  Kam-Bakhsh, 
whose  mother,  Udaipuri  Bai,  was  the  only  woman 
for  whom  the  emperor  entertained  anything  ap- 
proaching to  passionate  love.’  The  young  prince 
was  suspected  of  trafficking  the  imperial  honour 
with  the  Marathas,  and  placed  under  temporary 
arrest,  but  his  father  forgave  or  acquitted  him,  and 
his  last  letters  breathe  a tone  of  tender  affection. 

The  end  of  the  lonely  unloved  life  was  approach- 
ing. Failure  stamped  every  effort  of  the  final  years. 
The  emperor’s  long  absence  had  given  the  rein  to 
disorders  in  the  north  ; the  Rajputs  were  in  open 
rebellion,  the  Jats  had  risen  about  Agra,  and  the 
Sikhs  began  to  make  their  name  notorious  in  Multan. 
The  Deccan  was  a desert,  where  the  path  of  the 
Marathas  was  traced  by  pillaged  towns,  ravaged 
fields,  and  smoking  villages.  The  Moghul  army  was 
enfeebled  and  demoralized;  ‘those  infernal  foot- 

’ Aurangzib’s  wives  played  but  a small  part  in  his  life.  Accord- 
ing to  Manucci  the  chief  wife  was  a Rajput  princess,  and  became  the 
mother  of  Mohammad  and  Mu'azzam,  besides  a daughter.  A Per- 
sian lady  was  the  mother  of  A'zam  and  Akbar  and  two  daughters. 
The  nationality  of  the  third,  by  whom  the  emperor  had  one  daugh- 
ter, is  not  recorded.  Udaipuri,  the  mother  of  Kam-Bakhsh,  was  a 
Christian  from  Georgia,  and  had  been  purchased  by  Dara,  on  whose 
execution  she  passed  to  the  harim  of  .\urangzib. 


FAILURE 


407 


soldiers’  were  croaking  like  rooks  in  an  invaded 
rookery,  clamouring  for  their  arrears  of  pay.  The 
finances  were  in  hopeless  confusion,  and  Aurangzib 
refused  to  be  pestered  about  them.  The  Marathas 
became  so  bold  that  they  plundered  on  the  skirts  of 
the  Grand  Army  and  openly  scoffed  at  the  emperor, 
and  no  man  dared  leave  the  Moghul  lines  without  a 
strong  escort.  There  was  even  a talk  of  making 
terms  with  the  insolent  bandits. 

At  last  the  emperor  led  the  dejected  remnant  of 
his  once  powerful  army,  in  confusion  and  alarm, 
pursued  by  skirmishing  bodies  of  exultant  Marathas, 
back  to  Ahmadnagar,  whence,  more  than  twenty 
years  before,  he  had  set  out  full  of  sanguine  hope 
and  at  the  head  of  a splendid  and  invincible  host. 
His  long  privations  had  at  length  told  upon  his 
health,  and  when  he  entered  the  city  he  said  that 
his  journeys  were  over.  Even  when  convinced  that 
the  end  was  near,  his  invincible  suspicions  still 
mastered  his  natural  affections.  He  kept  all  his 
sons  away,  lest  they  should  do  even  as  he  had  done 
to  his  own  father.  Alone  he  had  lived,  and  alone 
he  made  ready  to  die.  He  had  all  the  puritan’s 
sense  of  sin  and  unworthiness,  and  his  morbid  creed 
inspired  a terrible  dread  of  death.  He  poured  out 
his  troubled  heart  to  his  sons  in  letters  which  show 
the  love  which  all  his  suspicion  could  not  uproot. 

‘ Peace  be  with  you  and  yours,’  he  wrote  to  Prince 
A‘zam,  ‘ I am  grown  very  old  and  weak,  and  my 
limbs  are  feeble.  Many  were  around  me  when  I was 
born,  but  now  I am  going  alone.  I know  not  why  I 
am  or  wherefore  I came  into  the  world.  I bewail 


4o8 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


the  moments  which  I have  spent  forgetful  of  God’s 
worship.  I have  not  done  well  by  the  country  or 
its  people.  My  years  have  gone  by  profitless.  God 
has  been  in  my  heart,  yet  my  darkened  eyes  have 
not  recognized  his  light.  Life  is  transient,  and  the 
lost  moment  never  comes  back.  There  is  no  hope 
for  me  in  the  future.  The  fever  is  gone:  but  only 
skin  and  dried  flesh  are  mine.  . . . The  army  is 

confounded  and  without  heart  or  help,  even  as  I am: 
apart  from  God,  with  no  rest  for  the  heart.  They 
know  not  whether  they  have  a king  or  not.  Nothing 
brought  I into  this  world,  but  I carry  away  with 
me  the  burthen  of  my  sins.  I know  not  what  punish- 
ment be  in  store  for  me  to  suffer.  Though  my  trust 
is  in  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God,  I deplore  my 
sins.  When  I have  lost  hope  in  myself,  how  can  I 
hope  in  others  ? Come  what  will,  I have  launched 
my  bark  upon  the  waters.  . . . Farewell!  Fare- 

well! Farewell!’ 

To  his  favourite  Kam-Bakhsh  he  wrote  : — ‘ Soul  of 
my  soul.  . . . Now  I am  going  alone.  I grieve 

for  your  helplessness.  But  what  is  the  use  ? Every 
torment  I have  inflicted,  every  sin  I have  committed, 
every  wrong  I have  done,  I carry  the  consequence 
w'ith  me.  Strange  that  I came  with  nothing  into 
the  world,  and  now  go  away  with  this  stupendous 
caravan  of  sin ! . . . Wherever  I look  I see  only 

God.  ...  I have  greatly  sinned,  and  I know 
not  what  torment  awaits  me.  . . . Let  not 

Muslims  be  slain  and  reproach  fall  upon  my  useless 
head.  I commit  you  and  your  sons  to  God’s  care, 
and  bid  you  farewell.  I am  sorely  troubled.  Your 


A LIFE'S  TRAGEDY 


409 


sick  mother,  Udaipuri,  would  fain  die  with  me.  . . . 
Peace ! ’ * 

On  Friday,  the  4th  of  March,  1707,  in  the  fiftieth 
year  of  his  reign,  and  the  eighty-ninth  of  his  life,  after 
performing  the  morning  prayers  and  repeating  the 
creed,  the  emperor  Aurangzib  gave  up  the  ghost.  In 
accordance  with  his  command,  ‘ Carry  this  creature 
of  dust  to  the  nearest  burial-place,  and  lay  him  in  the 
earth  with  no  useless  coffin,’  he  was  buried  in  all 
simplicity  near  Daulatabad  beside  the  tombs  of 
Muslim  saints. 

‘ Every  plan  that  he  formed  came  to  little  good  ; 
every  enterprise  failed  : ’ such  is  the  comment  of  the 
Mohammedan  historian  on  the  career  of  the  sovereign 
whom  he  justly  extols  for  his  ‘ devotion,  austerity, 
and  justice,’  and  his  ‘ incomparable  courage,  long- 
suffering,  and  judgment.’  Aurangzib’s  life  had 
been  a vast  failure,  indeed,  but  he  had  failed 
grandly.  His  glory  is  that  he  could  not  force  his 
soul,  that  he  dared  not  desert  the  colours  of  his 
faith.  The  great  Puritan  of  India  was  of  such  stuff 
as  wins  the  martyr’s  crown. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  FALL  OF  THE  MOGHUL  EMPIRE 
THE  HINDU  REVIVAL 
1707-1765 

URANGZIB  was  the  last  of  the  Great  Moghuls, 


in  all  save  the  name.  He  had  been  by  far  the 
most  powerful  of  the  line ; he  had  ruled  wider  terri- 
tories and  commanded  vaster  armies  than  Akbar; 
and  he  had  governed  his  teeming  populations  with 
an  absolute  despotism  in  which  no  other  man  had  a 
voice.  What  Akbar  has  achieved  by  broad-minded 
statesmanship,  and  Shah-Jahan  by  imposing  majesty 
and  panoplied  array,  Aurangzib  had  accomplished 
by  the  exercise  of  an  iron  will  and  indomitable  per- 
sonal labour.  Through  the  greater  part  of  his  long 
reign  no  sovereign  was  ever  more  abjectly  feared  and 
obeyed  ; none  certainly  showed  a more  marvellous 
grasp  of  administration.  Then  at  the  last  the  effects 
of  too  close  repression,  of  over-government  and  cen- 
tralization, were  discovered.  The  tedious  war  in  the 
Deccan  exhausted  his  armies  and  destroyed  his 
prestige,  and  no  sooner  was  the  dominating  mind 


410 


AT  A URANGZIB  ’S  BE  A TH  4 1 1 

Stilled  in  death  than  all  the  forces  tlaat  he  had  sternly 
controlled,  all  the  warring  elements  that  struggled 
for  emancipation  from  the  grinding  yoke,  broke  out 
in  irrepressible  tumult.  Even  before  the  end  of  his 
reign  Hindustan  was  in  confusion,  and  the  signs  of 
coming  dissolution  had  appeared.  As  some  imperial 
corpse,  preserved  for  ages  in  its  dread  seclusion, 
crowned  and  armed  and  still  majestic,  yet  falls  to 
dust  at  the  mere  breath  of  heaven,  so  fell  the  empire 
of  the  Moghul  when  the  great  name  that  guarded  it 
was  no  more.  It  was  as  though  some  splendid 
palace,  reared  with  infinite  skill  with  all  the  costliest 
stones  and  precious  metals  of  the  earth,  had  attained 
its  perfect  beauty  only  to  collapse  in  undistinguish- 
able  ruin  when  the  insidious  roots  of  the  creeper' 
sapped  the  foundations. 

Even  had  Aurangzib  left  a successor  of  his  own 
mental  and  moral  stature,  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  process  of  disintegration  could  have  been  stayed. 
The  disease  was  too  far  advanced  for  even  the  most 
heroic  surgery.  To  increase  the  confusion  the  Great 
Moghul  had  made  no  nomination  to  the  throne  he 
was  vacating,  and  as  usual  all  the  sons  claimed  the 
sceptre.  The  contest  was  brief : Prince  A'zam  was 
slain  in  battle  near  Agra,  Kam-bakhsh  died  of  his 
wounds  after  a defeat  near  Haidarabad,  and  the  first- 
born Mu'azzam  ascended  the  throne  with  the  title  of 
Bahadur  Shah.  He  found  himself  face  to  face  with 
such  difficulties  as  had  not  been  known  since  the 

' The  ficus  religiosa.  The  simile  is  Mr.  H.  G.  Keene’s,  whose 
Fall  of  the  Moghul  Empire  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  in- 

teresting books  on  the  history  of  India  in  the  eighteenth  century. 


412 


MEDIAEVAL  INDIA 


days  of  Humayun.  It  was  not  merely  the  Marathas 
that  had  to  be  dealt  with  : the  Rajput  rajas  were  in 
revolt ; the  Sikhs  were  rising  in  the  Pan  jab,  and  the 
Jats  near  Agra;  and  the  English  had  ventured  on 
bold  reprisals,  which  were  to  lead  to  far-reaching 
consequences  in  another  half-century. 

Nor  was  it  only  among  non-Muslim  peoples  that 
the  spirit  of  insurrection  was  alive.  These  no  doubt 
had  been  excited  by  the  religious  intolerance  of  the 
late  emperor;  but  the  Muslims  themselves  were 
scarcely  in  better  order.  The  fatal  system  of  re- 
warding services  or  conciliating  jealousies  by  large 
grants  of  territory  had  produced  a kind  of  baronage 
fully  as  dangerous  and  subversive  of  central  author- 
ity as  any  corresponding  class  in  feudal  Europe. 
The  provincial  mansabdars  had  become  petty  kings, 
and  were  far  more  interested  in  coercing  their 
neighbours  than  in  supporting  their  emperor  against 
his  many  foes.  Nor  could  Bahadur  rely  upon  his 
troops  as  Babar  and  Akbar  had  trusted  them.  The 
toleration  of  Akbar’s  policy,  the  luxurious  splendour 
of  Shah-Jahan’s  court,  had  bred  both  indifference 
and  effeminacy  in  what  had  once  been  an  army  of 
hardy  mountaineers.  India  had  proved  the  Capua, 
of  Babar’s  veterans,  and  the  enervating  climate  had 
relaxed  their  thews  and  softened  their  training 
whilst  drink  had  become  the  curse  not  only  of  the 
imperial  house,  many  of  whom  died  of  it,  but  also 
of  the  nobles  and  the  whole  court.  ‘ The  heroic 
soldiers  of  the  early  empire  and  their  not  less  heroic 
wives  had  given  place  to  a vicious  and  delicate  breed 
of  grandees.  The  ancestors  of  Aurangzib,  who 


DECCAN  AFFAIRS  SETTLED 


413 


swooped  down  on  India  from  the  north,  were  ruddy 
men  in  boots  : the  courtiers  among  whom  Aurangzib 
grew  up  were  pale  persons  in  petticoats.  Babar,  the 
founder  of  the  empire,  had  swum  every  river  which 
he  met  with  during  thirty  years  campaigning;  the 
luxurious  nobles  around  the  youthful  Aurangzib 
wore  skirts  made  of  innumerable  folds  of  the  finest 
white  muslin,  and  went  to  war  in  palankins.’ ' 
Nothing  but  the  old  emperor’s  steel  hand  and  high 
example  could  have  made  these  men  join  in  his 
campaigns;  but  even  so,  twenty  years  of  doubtful 
warfare  had  exhausted  what  courage  there  was, 
and  his  successor  inherited  a thoroughly  dispirited 
army. 

With  such  materials  as  he  had,  and  against  such 
odds,  Bahadur  must  be  credited  with  both  courage 
and  prudence.  He  showed  no  rancour  against  the 
chiefs  who  had  sided  with  his  brothers  in  the  brief 
war  of  succession,  but  gladly  welcomed  them  to  his 
councils.  His  great  object  was  to  settle  affairs  in  the 
Deccan  so  as  to  be  free  to  deal  with  the  many 
troubles  in  Hindustan.  Fortunately  there  was  a 
split  among  the  Marathas,  and  two  claimants  to  the 
chief  command,  one  of  whom,  the  rightful  heir,  was 
a captive  in  the  Moghul  camp.  This  Sahu  was  re- 
leased by  Bahadur,  who  recognized  his  title  on  con- 
ditions of  peace.  Leaving  the  Marathas  to  arrange 
their  own  differences,  the  emperor  went  north  and 
made  terms  with  the  insurgent  Rajputs,  practically 
restoring  them  to  the  position  they  had  held  in  Ak- 
bar’s  reign.  The  terms  might  have  been  less  favour- 

' Sir  W.  W.  Hunter,  Nineteenth  Century,  May,  1887. 


4H 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


able  if  Bahadur’s  anxieties  had  not  been  concentrated 
on  a new  danger. 

The  Sikhs,  who  had  begun  about  two  centuries 
before  as  a purely  religious  sect  of  theists,  had  been 
driven  by  Muslim  persecution  to  form  themselves 
into  a military  organization,  with  distinctive  uniform, 
customs,  and  ceremonies ; and  by  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century  they  had  developed  into  a fierce 
and  fanatical  soldiery,  burning  to  avenge  the  atro- 
cities suffered  by  their  leader.  Guru  Govlnd,  at  the 
hands  of  the  Muslims.  The  general  confusion  at 
the  time  of  Aurangzib’s  death  gave  them  their  op- 
portunity. From  their  retreats  on  the  upper  Sutlej, 
they  raided  the  eastern  Panjab,  butchering  their 
enemies,  men,  women,  and  children,  and  destroying 
the  mosques.  A second  raid,  as  far  as  Lahore  and 
even  Delhi,  brought  Bahadur  into  the  field.  He 
drove  them  to  the  hills,  but  without  materially  shak- 
ing their  power ; and  then  unfortunately  he  died 
(1712).  Short  as  his  reign  had  been,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  he  was  the  son  of  a very  old  man, 
and  was  himself  nearly  seventy.  Had  he  been  in 
the  prime  of  life  there  might  possibly  have  been  a 
different  story  to  tell. 

After  the  usual  struggle  for  the  throne  and  ensu- 
ing massacre  of  kindred,  his  son  Jahandar  succeeded 
— utterly  incapable  and  incurably  vicious;  in  less 
than  a year  he  was  murdered,  and  his  nephew,  Far- 
rukhsiyar,  a despicable  poltroon,  suffered  the  like 
fate  six  years  later  (1719),  when,  after  a couple  of 
youths  had  been  tried  for  a few  months,  Mohammad 
Shah  received  the  title  of  emperor  which  he  retained 


PARTITION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 


415 


for  twenty-eight  years.  It  was  but  a title,  however, 
for  the  power  and  the  glory  had  departed  from  the 
house  of  Babar,  and  Mohammad  v/as  only  able  to 
preserve  some  semblance  of  authority  by  intrigue 
and  combination  with  the  various  governors  and  ad- 
venturers who  now  partitioned  the  distracted  empire. 
By  such  means  he  contrived  to  rid  himself  of  the 
dictatorship  of  the  Barha  Sayyids,  two  brothers  who 
for  some  years  had  usurped  the  supreme  control  of 
affairs  in  the  time  of  their  wretched  tool  Farrukhsiyar. 
But  there  were  other  forces  which  he  could  not 
master. 

Among  these  the  Sikhs  were  no  longer  to  be 
reckoned,  for  they  had  been  put  down  in  the  time 
of  the  Sayyids  with  remorseless  brutality,  and  for 
many  years  this  valiant  people  was  scarcely  heard 
of.  The  Marathas,  on  the  other  hand,  were  increas- 
ing in  power  every  year.  Their  only  rival  in  the 
Deccan  was  Chin  Kulich  Khan,  better  known  as 
Asaf  Jah,  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Nizams 
of  Haidarabad  which  subsists  to  this  day;  and  Asaf 
Jah  found  it  expedient  to  make  terms  with  the 
enemy  and  submit  to  their  system  of  levying  the 
chaiith,  a kind  of  Danegeld  by  means  of  which 
the  Marathas  systematically  extended  their  influence 
with  less  trouble  than  if  they  had  immediately  in- 
sisted on  territorial  cessions.  By  the  skilful  policy 
of  Balaji,  and  his  even  abler  son  Baji  Rao,  the  earliest 
of  the  Peshwas, — the  real  leaders,  who  stood  towards 
the  hereditary  Maratha  raja  much  as  the  Shogan  did 
to  the  Mikado  before  the  Japanese  revolution, — 
this  system  of  blackmail  was  enlarged  till  it  was 


4i6 


MEDI/EVAL  INDIA 


accepted  not  only  in  the  Deccan  but  in  Gujarat 
(1731),  Mahva,  and  even  as  far  north  as  Bandelkhand. 
By  this  time  some  famous  names  — Pilaji  Gaikwar, 
Holkar,  and  Sindhia — begin  to  appear  among  the 
officers  of  the  peshwa,  and  save  for  old  Asaf  Jah, 
who  was  now  the  leading  man  in  India,  there  was  no 
corresponding  ability  on  the  Moghul  side.  Even 
this  veteran,  when  the  Marathas,  by  way  of  demon- 
stration, advanced  up  to  the  very  gates  of  Delhi, 
could  muster  only  34,000  men  to  oppose  them.  The 
result  was  the  cession  of  the  whole  of  the  territories 
between  the  Narbada  and  the  Chambal  to  the  suc- 
cessful peshwa  (1738). 

Whilst  the  wolves  of  the  Deccan  were  steadily 
working  up  from  the  south,  a new  catastrophe  from 
the  north  befell  the  vestiges  of  the  Moghul  empire. 
In  the  midst  of  the  pressing  difficulties  that  sur- 
rounded them  neither  the  emperors  nor  their  minis- 
ters had  been  able  to  pay  much  attention  to  what 
was  going  on  in  Afghanistan.  Kabul  and  Ghazni 
still  belonged  to  the  empire  of  Delhi,  as  they  had 
done  since  the  time  of  Babar,  but  Kandahar,  which 
had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Shahs  of  Persia 
since  1648,  had  been  seized  by  the  Ghilzai  Afghans, 
who  had  carried  their  successes  to  the  point  of  seat- 
ing their  chief  upon  the  Persian  throne  (1722).  Their 
brief  triumph  was  reversed  in  1729  by  the  famous 
soldier  Nadir  Shah,  who  not  only  gained  possession 
of  Persia,  but  recovered  Kandahar  (1738)  and  im- 
mediately completed  his  conquest  by  seizing  Kabul 
and  Ghazni.  The  Moghuls  — it  is  an  instructive 
precedent  — relied  on  the  mountain  tribes,  whom 


PERSIA  IN  FADES  INDIA 


4>7 


they  had  formerly  subsidized,  to  prevent  the  invaders 
from  penetrating  the  passes  into  India  ; but  the  sub- 
sidy had  lapsed  during  the  recent  troubles,  and  the 
Afghans  offered  no  obstacles  to  the  Persians.  In 
November,  1738,  Nadir  crossed  the  Indus,  and  after 
a partial  engagement  with  the  Moghul  forces,  who 
were  half  disposed  to  side  wdth  the  invaders,  the 
conqueror  received  the  surrender  of  the  emperor  in 
person  in  February,  1739.  The  Persians  entered 
Delhi  with  Mohammad  Shah  as  their  captive  guest, 
and  in  revenge  for  a murderous  onslaught  of  the 
populace,  the  capital  was  given  over  to  fire,  carnage, 
and  rapine.  The  imperial  treasures,  including  the 
famous  jewelled  Peacock  Throne,  valued  by  Taver- 
nier at  £6,000,000,  were  seized  and  transported  to 
Persia,  the  inhabitants  were  squeezed  to  the  last 
mohr,  and  torture  was  employed  to  extort  payment. 
‘ Sleep  and  rest  forsook  the  city.  In  every  chamber 
and  house  was  hear.d  the  cry  of  affliction.  It  was  be- 
fore a general  massacre,  but  now  the  murder  of  in- 
dividuals.’ The  awful  visitation  of  Timur  was 
repeated  and  even  outdone.  At  last,  after  two 
months  of  colossal  pillage,  Nadir  returned  to  his  own 
country,  carrying  with  him  spoils  to  the  value  of 
eight  or  nine  millions  in  money  alone,  besides  an 
immense  treasure  of  gold  and  silver  plate,  jewels, 
rich  stuffs,  and  a crowd  of  skilled  artisans,  with  herds 
of  elephants,  horses,  and  camels.' 

This  invasion  of  India  from  the  north,  unexpected 
as  it  was  after  a cessation  of  all  such  inroads  during 

'See  Elphinstone  (1866  ed.),  716-720,  and  the  Siyar-el-Muta- 
kkirin. 


27 


4i8 


MEDIAEVAL  IXD/A 


two  centuries  of  Moghul  power,  was  too  successful 
not  to  invite  repetition,  and  upon  the  assassination 
of  Nadir  in  1747,  Ahmad  Shah,  the  chief  of  the 
Abdali  tribe  of  Afghans,  after  founding  a powerful 
kingdom  at  Kandahar,  soon  found  his  way  into  the 
Panjab.  This  first  attempt  was  strenuously  resisted 
(1748)  ; the  battle  of  Sirhind  saw  the  Afghans  driven 
back  by  Indian  troops  as  they  were  never  driven 
again  ; but  Ahmad  Shah  did  not  abandon  his  de- 
sign. The  empire  of  Delhi  was  at  its  weakest  ; the 
old  nizam  was  dead,  and  the  factions  at  court  were 
internecine.  The  new  emperor,  also  named  Ahmad, 
who  succeeded  Mohammad  in  1748,  was  so  sorely 
beset  by  the  Rohillas  that  he,  or  rather  his  vezir 
Safdar  Jang,  nawab  or  viceroy  of  Oudh, — the  first 
to  combine  the  offices  of  nawab-vezir, — was  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  calling  in  the  Marathas  to  his  aid. 
Holkar  and  Sindhia  enabled  the  vezir  to  bring  the 
Rohillas  to  submission,  but  the  Deccan  wolves  in- 
demnified themselves  liberally  for  their  help,  by 
levying  their  cliaiith  throughout  the  conquered  dis- 
tricts. Even  Bengal  had  been  forced  to  submit  to 
their  blackmail,  and  the  Marathas  were  now  in  a 
position  to  dictate  terms  at  Delhi.  Indeed,  the  em- 
pire of  Aurangzib  had  lost  the  power  of  resistance. 
Not  a province  of  all  the  wide  dominion  that  still  nomi- 
nally owned  the  Moghul’s  sway  was  really  under  his 
control,  except  the  upper  Doab  and  a few  districts 
about  the  Sutlej.  The  Panjab  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Afghans,  Safdar  Jang  was  practically  sovereign 
at  Oudh  and  Allahabad,  Aliverdi  Khan  held  Bengal. 
Afghans  and  Rohillas  did  as  they  pleased  in  the 


MARATHAS  CONQUER  THE  PANJAB  419 

middle  Doab  and  Rohilkhand,  Gujarat  and  Malwa 
were  Maratha  provinces,  and  the  Deccan,  even  the 
part  held  by  the  second  nizam  was  wholly  beyond 
the  mastery  of  Delhi. 

Meanwhile  Ahmad  Shah  still  hovered  over  the 
Panjab,  which  was  tamely  ceded  to  him  in  the  hope 
of  checking  worse  demands ; but  a treacherous  at- 
tack on  his  governor  at  Lahore  roused  him  to  a 
fresh  invasion,  and  in  1756  Delhi  experienced  all  the 
horrors  of  a sack  over  again.  On  his  retiring  in 
the  following  year,  the  old  intrigues  and  jealousies 
revived  ; the  Marathas  were  again  called  in,  and  this 
time  the  peshwa’s  brother  actually  occupied  the 
capital,  where  a new  puppet-emperor  Alamgir  II, 
who  had  succeeded  the  debauched  Ahmad  in  1754, 
was  helpless  between  the  rival  interests  of  the  vezir 
Ghazi-ad-din  and  the  Afghan  chief  of  Rohillas, 
Najib-ad-daula.  The  Marathas  now  made  them- 
selves masters  of  the  Panjab  and  felt  that  they  were 
within  sight  of  the  conquest  of  the  whole  of  Hindu- 
stan. They  were  in  the  zenith  of  their  power. 
Their  domestic  differences  had  been  accommodated, 
and  a general  combination  of  all  their  forces  was  ar- 
ranged. They  were  no  longer  the  ill-disciplined 
band  of  marauders  that  had  baffled  Aurangzib  by 
their  guerrilla  tactics  : besides  such  predatory  hordes, 
they  had  well-ordered  cavalry  and  infantry  and  a 
better  artillery  train  than  the  Moghuls  themselves. 
Full  of  their  strength  and  ambition  they  raised  the 
cry  of  Hindustan  for  the  Hindus. 

It  had  become  a religious  war,  centred  round  the 
phantom  of  the  Moghul  empire.  On  the  one  hand 


420 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


was  the  Mohammedan  Afghan,  Ahmad  Shah,  eager 
to  recov’er  the  Panjab  and  to  take  vengeance  on  the 
new  power  that  had  robbed  him.  On  the  other  was 
the  Moghul  vezir  of  Oudh,  Shuja‘-ad-daula,  son  of 
Safdar  Jang,  supported  by  the  forces  of  the  eastern 
provinces.  Between  lay  the  prostrate  capital,  over- 
awed by  the  host  of  the  Hindu  Marathas.  There 
was  not  even  a Moghul  emperor  to  hold  the  balance, 
for  the  harmless  figure-head,  Alamgir,  had  been 
murdered  by  the  vezir  in  1759,  and  the  heir,  Shah- 
Alam,  had  fled  to  the  protection  of  the  British  in 
Bengal  in  dread  of  sharing  the  same  fate.  Among 
all  the  bold  adventurers  who  played  the  king  in 
India  at  this  time,  none  was  more  remarkable  than 
Ghazi-ad-din,  the  youthful  grandnephew  of  Asaf 
Jah,  who  dominated  the  political  situation  from  1752 
to  1759  by  sheer  audacity  and  brilliant  recklessness. 
The  murder  of  the  emperor,  however,  was  a stroke 
that  overreached  itself,  and  when  the  Afghan  Shah 
moved  down  upon  the  capital,  the  unscrupulous 
young  assassin  fled  for  his  life.  Ahmad  Shah  found 
the  throne  empt\',  and  proceeded  to  take  steps  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Mohammedan  power  in  India 
as  master  of  the  situation. 

The  decisive  moment  came  on  January  6,  1761. 
The  Marathas  were  intrenched  at  Panipat  with  a 
force  of  70,000  cavalry  and  15,000  infantry,  nine 
thousand  of  whom  were  thoroughly  disciplined  un- 
der a Mohammedan  who  had  served  in  the  French 
army  in  India  under  Bussy.  The  commander-in- 
chief  was  the  peshwa’s  cousin  Sadasheo  Bhao,  and 
Holkar  and  Sindhia  were  with  him.  The  Afghans 


BA  TTLE  OF  PAN  IP  A T 


421 


and  Moghuls  numbered  about  53,000  horse,  Afghan, 
Persian,  and  Indian,  and  less  than  40,000  infantry, 
partly  Rohillas  under  Najib ; but  their  field  pieces 
were  very  inferior  to  the  Marathas’  guns.  Too  weak 
to  attack,  the  Muslim  army  intrenched  itself  over 
against  the  Hindus,  and  for  two  months  the  oppos- 
ing forces  that  were  contending  for  the  crown  of 
India  watched  each  other  narrowly.  Famine  soon 
began  to  make  itself  felt,  but  Ahmad  Shah  refused 
to  force  an  action.  He  knew  that  the  Deccan 
wolves  were  suffering  even  more  than  his  Pathans. 
They  were  even  opening  negotiations  for  peace  with 
the  nawab-vezir,  but  the  Afghan  king,  strongly 
urged  by  Najib,  refused  all  compromise. 

At  last  the  Bhao  declared  that  ‘ the  cup  is  now 
full  to  the  brim  and  cannot  hold  another  drop’;  the 
time  for  negotiation  was  past,  and  the  starved  Hin- 
dus, smeared  with  turmeric,  threw  themselves  upon 
the  Afghan  army.  For  a time  it  looked  as  if  Hindu- 
ism had  triumphed.  The  Rohillas  suffered  tremen- 
dously ; the  vezir  could  hardly  hold  his  ground  ; the 
Muslims  were  skulking  or  flying.  Ahmad  Shah, 
who  was  watching  the  battle  from  his  red  tent,  saw 
that  the  time  had  come  to  order  up  his  reserves.  He 
rallied  the  fugitives,  cut  down  all  who  would  not  re- 
turn to  the  fight,  and  sent  his  mailed  reserve,  10,000 
strong,  to  support  the  vezir  and  charge  upon  the 
enemy  in  close  order.  The  effect  of  this  heavy 
charge  at  the  close  of  an  exhausting  battle  was  su- 
preme. The  Marathas  gave  way,  the  Bhao  was 
killed,  Holkar  and  Sindhia  left  the  field,  an  awful 
butchery  followed.  Once  more  the  plain  of  Panipat 


422 


MEDI/EVAL  INDIA 


had  witnessed  a decisive  battle  in  the  history  of 
India. 

The  Marathas  never  recovered  from  the  blow, 
though  they  had  still  a prominent  part  to  play  in 
the  annals  of  Hindustan.  For  the  present  the  scene 
of  action  was  transferred  from  Delhi  to  Bengal  and 
Bihar,  where  the  new  emperor,  Shah-Alam,  was 
involved  in  the  complicated  difficulties  that  had 
sprung  up  between  the  Nawab-vezir  and  the  British. 
There,  however,  the  history  of  Mohammedan  India 
closes,  and  the  history  of  British  India  begins.  The 
victory  of  Panipat  swept  away  the  Marathas  only  to 
make  a clear  path  for  the  English.  Less  than  four 
years  afterwards  the  battle  of  Buxar  (Baksar)  on  Oc- 
tober 23,  1764,  disposed  of  the  power  of  the  Nawab, 
and  the  next  day  Shah-Alam  came  into  the  British 
camp.  The  treaty  then  signed  made  the  Nawab-vezir 
a vassal  of  Calcutta,  and  the  Moghul  emperor  a 
pensioner  of  the  East  India  Company.  Such 
was  the  political  tragedy  of  the  famous  House  of 
Timur. 

The  dynasty  of  Babar  ended  in  nothingness,  like 
all  its  many  predecessors.  The  Mohammedan  as- 
cendancy in  Hindustan,  rising  from  Mahmud’s  raids, 
spreading  under  the  vigorous  rule  of  a few  of  the 
Slave  Kings  and  their  great  successor  Ala-ad-din, 
and  attaining  its  widest  scope  and  severest  aspect 
under  Aurangzib,  only  to  fall  rapidly  to  its  decline 
in  the  weak  hands  of  his  descendants,  left  few  traces 
of  its  long  domination.  A new  vernacular,  com- 
pounded of  the  languages  of  the  Shah  Namaand  the 
Ramayana ; a multitude  of  exquisite  monuments  of 


LEGACIES  OF  ISLAM  TO  INDIA 


423 


the  Muslim  faith,  inspired  by  analogies  in  far  western 
lands  of  Islam,  but  modified  and,  if  one  may  say  so, 
sensualized  by  the  grosser  architecture  of  India;  a 
few  provinces  still  owning  Mohammedan  rulers;  a 
large  Muslim  minority  content  to  dwell  among  ‘in- 
fidels ’ and  to  obey  the  behests  of  the  Christians  from 
the  distant  islands  of  the  West — ■ such  are  the  chief 
legacies  of  Islam  to  India.  Nine  centuries  of  asso- 
ciation have  produced  no  sensible  fusion  between  the 
Muslim  and  the  Hindi>,  any  more  than  two  centuries 
of  intercourse  have  blended  either  with  the  domin- 
ant English.  There  are  those  who  believe  that  the 
contact  of  Western  energy  with  Eastern  thought, 
the  infusion  of  European  literature  in  the  subtle 
Indian  mind,  and  the  reaction  of  the  ancient  philo- 
sophies of  the  Brahman  schools  upon  the  imagination 
of  the  West,  may  end  In  generating  a new  force  in 
the  world, — another  great  religion,  who  knows?  — 
an  Indian  nation  combining  the  profound  specula- 
tions of  the  East  with  the  progressive  activities  of 
Europe.  Prophecy  is  no  part  of  the  historian’s  duty  ; 
but  if  any  forecast  may  be  deduced  from  the  long 
period  of  alien  rule  surveyed  in  the  preceding  pages, 
it  is  not  favourable  to  any  hopes  of  such  consumma- 
tion. The  conquerors  of  India  have  come  in  hordes 
again  and  again,  but  they  have  scarcely  touched  the 
soul  of  the  people.  The  Indian  is  still,  in  general, 
what  he  always  was,  in  spite  of  them  all ; and  how- 
ever forcible  the  new  and  unprecedented  influences 
now  at  work  upon  an  instructed  minority,  one  can 
with  difficulty  imagine  any  serious  change  in  the 
rooted  character  and  time-honoured  instincts  of  the 


424 


MEDIEVAL  INDIA 


vast  mass  of  the  people : nor  is  it  at  all  certain  that 
such  change  would  be  for  the  better. 

The  East  bowed  low  before  the  blast 
In  patient,  deep  disdain; 

She  let  the  legions  thunder  past, 

And  plunged  in  thought  again. 


MOHAMMEDAN  DYNASTIES 

GHAZNAWIDS 


A.H.  A.D, 

366  Sabuktagin 976 

387  Ismail 997 

388  Mahmud 998 

421  Mohammad 1030 

421  Mas'ud  1 1030 

432  Maudud 1040 

440  Mas’ud  II 1048 

440  'All 1048 

440  'Abd-ar-Rashid 1049 

444  Tttghril  (usurper) 1052 

444  Farrukhzad 1052 

451  Ibrahim 1059 

492  Mas'ud  III 1099 

508  Sherzad 1114 

509  Arslan  Shah 1115 

512  Bahram  Shah 1118 

547  Khusru  Shah I152 

555-582  Khusru  Malik 1160-1186 


HOUSE  OF  GHOR 


A.H.  A.D. 

Kutb-ad-din 

543  Saif-ad-din  Suri 1148 

544  'Ala-ad-din  Husain  Jahan-soz 1149 

556  Saif-ad-din  Mohammad n6i 

425 


426 


A/0//A  MM  EDA  N D YNA  S TIES 


A.H.  A.D. 

558  Ghiyas-ad-din  ibn  Sam 1163 

569  Mu'izz-ad-din  Mohammad  Ghori  at  Ghazni 1174 

570  ff  Conquers  Hindustan Ii75ff 

599-602  Succeeds  Ghiyas-ad-dIn  at  Ghor  1201-1206 


TREE  OF  THE  SLAVE  KINGS  OF  DELHI 


I.  Aybek 

I 


2.  Aram 


I 

daughter  = 3.  Altamish 


I ^ i 

4.  Firoz  5.  Queen  6.  Bahram 
I Raziya 

7.  Mas'ud 


1 

10.  Kai-Kubad 


Kai-Kawus 

(Bengal) 


8.  Mahmud 


d.  =9. 


Balban 

I 


Bughra 

(Bengal) 

I 


Firoz 

(Bengal) 


Bughra 
(\V.  Bengal) 


Bahadur 
(E.  Bengal) 


Nasir-ad-din 

(Lakhnauti) 


Hatim 

(Bihar) 


KINGS  OF  DELHI 

I. — SLAVE  KINGS 


A.H. 

A.D. 

602 

Aybek,  Kutb-ad-din 

607 

607 

Altamish,  Shams-ad-din 

MOHA  MM  EDA  N D YNA  S TIE  S 


427 


A.H.  A.D. 

633  Firoz  I.,  Rukn-ad-din 1236 

634  Ra4yat-ad-dln 1236 

637  Bahram,  Mu  izz-ad-din 1240 

639  Mas  ud, 'Ala-ad-dIn 1242 

644  Mahmud,  Nasir-ad-din 1246 

664  Balban,  Ghiyas-ad-din  1266 

686  Kai-Kubad,  Mu'izz-ad-din 1287 


II. — KHALJIS 

689  Firoz  II,,  Jala’.-ad-din .... 

695  Ibrahim,  Rukn-ad-dIn. . . . 

695  Mohammad,  'AL.i-AD-DiN 

715  'Omar,  Shihab-ad-din  .... 

716  Mubarak,  Kutb-ad-din  . . . 

720  Khusru,  Nasir-ad-dIn  .... 

III. — HOUSE  OF  TAGHLAK 

720  Taghlak 

725  MohammadTaghlak 

752  Firoz  III 

790  Taghlak  II 

791  Abu-Bakr  

792  Mohammad 

796  Sikandar 

796  \ ^lahmud 

( Nasrat 

801-2  Invasion  0/ Timur.  ■ . 

802  Mahmud  restored 

815  [Daulat  Khan  Lodi]  . . 

IV. — SAYYIDS 


817  Khizt 1414 

824  Mubarak 1421 

837  Mohammad 1433 

847  ‘Alam 1443 


. 1321 

• 1325 

• 1351 
. 1388 
. 1388 
. 1390 

• 1394 
j-  1394 

1398-9 

• 1399 

. 1412 


1290 

1296 

1296 

1316 

1316 

1321 


428  MOHAMMEDAN  DYNASTIES 

V. — lodIs 

A.H.  A.D. 

855  Bahlol 1451 

894  Sikandar 1488 

923  Ibrahim 1518 

932  Invasion  of  Bdbar 1526 

VI. — AFGHANS 

946  Sher  Shah 1539 

952  Islam  Shah 1545 

960  Mohammad  'Adie 1552 

961  Ibrahim  Sur 1553 

962  Sikandar 1554 

962  Moghul  Conquest 1555 

VII. — MOGHUL  F.MPERORS' 

932  Babar 1526 

937  Humayun 1530 

946  Deposed  by  Sher  Shah i539 

962  Humayun  restored 1555 

963  Akbar 1556 

1014  Jahangir 1605 

1037  Shah-Jahan 1628 

1069  AurangzTb 'AlamgTr 1659 

1 1 19  Bahadur 1707 

1124  Jahandar 1712 

1124  Farrukhsiyar 1713 

1131  Mohammad 1719 

1161  Invasion  of  Ahmad  Shah  Durrani 1748 

ii6i  Ahmad 1748 

1167  Alamgir  II 1754 

1173  Shah-'Alam 1759 

1221  Mohammad  Akbar  II 1806 

1253  Bahadur 1837 

1275  Queen  Victoria 1857 

* For  several  pretenders  and  ephemeral  or  local  sovereigns  of  this  line  see 
Lanb-Poole,  The  Mohammedan  Dynasties^  328. 


TREE  OF  THE  MOGHUL  EMPERORS 
I.  Babar 


429 


15.  Bahadur 

* The  princes  marked  with  an  asterisk  were  proclaimed  emperors  either  as  temporary  stopgaps  or  rivals  to  the  reigning 
emperor^  but  cannot  be  said  to  have  reigned. 


430  MOHAMMEDAN  DYNASTIES 

GOVERNORS  AND  KINGS  OF  BENGAL 
A.H.  A.D. 

599  Bakhtiyar  Khalji 1202 

602  'Izz-ad-din  Mohammad  Shiran . . 1205 

605  'Ala-ad-dIn  Mardan 1208 

608  Ghiyas-ad-dlii 'Iwaz 1211 

624  Nasir-ad-dln  Mahmud 1226 

627  'Ala-ad-din  JanI 1229 

627  Saif-ad-din  Aybek 1229 

631  'Izz-ad-din  Tughril  Tughan 1233 

642  Kamar-ad-din  Tamar 1244 

644  Ikhtiyar-ad-din  Yuzbek 1246 

656  Jalal-ad-din  Mas'ud 1258 

657  'Izz-ad-din  Balban 1258 

659?  Mohammad  Arslan  Tatar  Khan 1260? 

Sher  Khan 

Amin  Khan 

677  Mughis-ad-din  Tughril 1278 

681  Nasir-ad-din  Bughra,  son  of  Balban  of  Delhi 1282 

691  Rukn-ad-din  Kai-Kawus,  son  of  Bughra 1291 

702  Shams-ad-din  Firoz,  son  of  Bughra 1302 

718  Shihab-ad-din  Bughra,  son  of  Bughra  (\V.  Bengal).  ..  1318 

710  Ghiyas-ad-din  Bahadur,  son  of  Firoz  (E.  Bengal) 1310 

719  Ghiyas-ad-din  Bahadur,  son  of  Firdz  (all  Bengal) 1319 

723- 6  Nasir-ad-din,  son  of  Firoz  (Lakhnauti) 1323-5 

725- 31  Bahadur  restored,  with  Bahram  (E.  Bengal) 1324-30 

731-9  Bahram 1330-8 

726- 40  Kadr  Khan  (Lakhnauti) 1325-39 

724- 40  'Izz-ad-din  (Satgaon) 1323-39 

739- 50  Fakhr-ad-din  Mubarak  (E.  Bengal) 1338-49 

750-3  Ikhtiyar-ad-din  Ghazi  (E.  Bengal) 1349-52 

740- 6  'Ala-ad-din 'All  (\V.  Bengal) 1339-45 

746  Shams-ad-din  Ilyas 1345 

759  Sikandar  I 1358 

792  Ghiyas-ad-din  A'zam 1389 

799  Saif-ad-din  Hamza 1396 

809  Shams-ad-din 1406 

8i2  Shihab-ad-din  Bayazid  (with  Raja  Kans) 1409 

817  Jalal-ad-din  Mohammad 1414 

835  Shams-ad-din  Ah  mad 1431 


MOHAMMEDAN  DYNASTIES  43 1 

A.H.  A.D. 

846  Nasir-ad-din  Mahmud 1442 

864  Rukn-ad-din  Barbak 1459 

879  Shams-ad-din  Yusuf 1474 

886  Sikandar  II 1481 

886  JalM-ad-din  Path 1481 

892  Shahzada  Barbak  Habshi i486 

892  Saif-ad-din  Firoz i486 

895  Nasir-ad-d!n  Mahmud 1489 

896  Shams-ad-dIn  Muzafifar 1490 

899  'Ala-ad-dIn  Husain 1493 

925  Nasir-ad-din  Nasrat 1518 

939  'Ala-ad-din  Firoz 1532 

939  Ghiyas-ad-din  Mahmud 1532 

944  Conquest  by  Humayiin 1537 

946  Sher  Shah  (Sultan  of  Delhi) 1539 

952  Islam  Shah  (Sultan  of  Delhi) 1545 

960  Shams-ad-din  Mohammad  Sur 1552 

962  Bahadur 1554 

968  Ghiyas-ad-din  Jalal 1560 

971  Sulaiman  Kararani 1563 

980  Bayazid 1572 

980  Dawud 1572 

984  Annexed  by  A kbar 1576 


KINGS  OF  THE  EAST  (JAUNPUR) 

A.H.  A.D. 

796  Khwaja-i-Jahan 1394 

802  Mubarak 1399 

803  Ibrahim 1401 

844  Mahmud 1440 

861  Mohammad 1457 

863  Husain 1458 

881  Annexed  by  Delhi 1477 


432  MOHAMMEDAN  DYNASTIES 

KINGS  OF  MALWA 

I. — GHORIS 

A.H.  A.D. 

804  Dilawar  Khan  Ghori 1401 

808  Hushang 1406 

838  Mohammad 1434 

II. — khaljTs 

839  Mahmud  I.  Khaljl 1435 

880  Ghiyas 1475 

906  Nasir 1500 

916  Mahmud  II 1510 

937  Annexed  by  Gujarat 1531 


KINGS  OF  GUJARAT 

A.H.  A.D. 

799  Zafar  Khan,  Muzaffar  1 1397 

814  Ahmad  1 1411 

816  Mohammad  Karim 1443 

855  Kutb-ad-din 1451 

863  Dawud 1458 

863  Mahmud  1 1458 

917  Muzaffar  II 1511 

932  Sikandar 1525 

932  Mahmud  II.  (Nasir) 1525 

932  Bahadur 1526 

943  Miran  Mohammad  (of  Khandesh) 1537 

944  Mahmud  III 1537 

961  Ahmad  II 1553 

969  Muzaffar  III 1561 

980  Annexed  by  Akbar 1572 


BAHMANI  KINGS  OF  THE  DECCAN 
A.H.  A.D. 

748  Hasan  Gangu  Zafar  Khan 1347 

759  Mohammad  1 1358 


MOHA  MM  ED  A N D YNA  S TIE  S 


433 


A.H. 

776 

780 

780 

799 

799 

800 

825 

838 

862 

865 

867 

887 

924 

927 

929 

932-3 


Mujahid 

Dawud  

Mahmud  I . . . . 
Ghiyas-ad-din  . 
Shams-ad-din  . 

FTroz  

Ahmad  I 

Ahmad  II.... 

Ilumayun 

Nizam 

Mohammad  II, 
Mahmud  II . . . 
Ahmad  III. . . . 
' Ala-ad-dIn. . . . 
Wall-Allah. . . . 
Kallm-Allah  . . 


A.D. 

• 1375 
. 1378 
. 1378 
■ 1397 

• 1397 

• 1397 

. 1422 

• 1435 

• 1458 

. 1461 

• i4f>3 
. 1482 
. 1518 
. 1520 
. 1522 
1525-6 


INDEX 


A 

Abatis,  201,  202 
Abbas  Khan,  234 
Abbasid  caliphs,  15,  16,  18,  72 
Abd-al-Hakk,  144 
Abd-an-Nabi,  275,  282 
Abd-ar-Razzak,  398,  399 
Abu-Bekr,  154 

Abu-1-Fazl,  252,  269,  272-286 
Abu-l-Hasan,  396-400 
Abyssinians  in  India,  75,  76,  147, 
164 

Adham  Khan,  244,  245 
Adil  Shah  (Adah),  236 
Adil  Shahs,  184,  185,  344,  348, 

396 

Adoni,  181 

Afghanistan,  198  [Ghazni,  Kabul, 
Kandahar] 

Afghans,  154,  171,  190-192,  197 
note,  210-213,  219-223,  232- 
237.  239-242  [Khalji,  Lodi, 
Lohani] 

Afif,  143,  146 

Agra,  203,  212,  213,  215,  217, 
223,  226,  297,  301,  311,  333- 
339.  370,  381;  red  fort,  270 
Ahmad  I,  Bahmanid,  180 
Ahmad  I of  Gujarat,  1 75 
Ahmad  Khan  of  Mewat,  163 
Ahmad  Shah,  Abdali,  418-421 
Ahmad  Shah,  Moghul,  418, 
419 


Ahmadabad,  175,  176,  225,  226, 
250,  332 

Ahmadnagar,  176,  286,  344,  345 
Ahsanabad  (Kulbarga)  179 
Ain-i-Akbari,  266,  284 
Ajmir,  53,  174,  239,  356,  385; 

fort,  52;  mosque,  68,  69 
Akat  Khan,  100 
Akbar,  179,  237;  birth,  232; 
gradual  conquests,  239;  vic- 
tory of  Panipat,  240,  241;  frees 
himself  from  Bairam’s  tutel- 
age, 242,  244;  court  influences, 
245;  physical  characteristics, 
246,  247;  courage,  248-250; 
encouragement  of  Hindus, 251; 
Hindu  and  other  wives,  251, 
252;  abolition  of  poll-tax  and 
pilgrim  taxes,  252;  social  laws, 
252,  253;  siege  of  Chitor,  254 
-257;  loyalty  of  Rajputs,  258; 
Todar  Mai’s  land  reforms, 
260-268;  Sufi  influences,  Abu-1- 
Fazl,  269;  Fathpur-Sikri,  270- 
274;  art,  273,  274;  the  Divine 
F'aith,  275-278;  imperial  in- 
fallibility, 279;  sun-worship, 
280-282;  the  millennium,  283; 
the  Ain-i-Akbari,  284;  Dec- 
can  conquests,  285-286;  loss 
of  friends,  285-286;  death, 
287;  tomb,  287;  Anaga,  Ma- 
ham,  242 

Akbar,  son  of  Aurangzib,  385,  386 


435 


436 


INDEX 


Akbarnama,  2S4 
Ala-ad-din  Alam  Khan,  Lodi, 
IQ2,  199,  200 

Ala-ad-din  Husain  Jahan-soz,  47, 
4S 

Ala-ad-din  Khalji,  92;  murder 
of  Firoz,  92;  accession,  94; 
conquests  in  the  Deccan,  95, 
96;  withstands  Mongols,  96, 
97;  rebellions  suppressed,  9S; 
prosperity  and  vanity,  99;  siege 
of  Rantambhor,  too;  conspir- 
acies, 100,  loi ; repressive 
measures,  loi-ioS,  146;  de- 
fensive measures  against  Mon- 
gols, 109;  reform  of  army, 
no;  tariff  of  food,  in;  Dec- 
can  campaigns,  113-114,  pro- 
sperity and  reaction, 115;  death, 
115,  131;  coinage,  137,  175 
Alam  Khan,  199  [Ala-ad-din 
Lodi] 

Alamgir  [Aurangzib],  419 
Albari,  70,  77 
Albuquerque,  177,  293 
Ali  Kuli  Khan-Zaman,  24S,  249 
Almeida.  Francisco  de,  177 
“ Louren90  de,  177 
Alptagin  founds  kingdom  of 
Ghazni,  16 

-\ltamish  (Iltutmish),  70:  recov- 
ers Hindustan  from  anarchy, 
72;  invested  as  sultan  by  ca- 
liph, 72;  death,  73;  tomb  at 
Delhi,  75,  S4 
Altuniya.  76 

Amber,  251;  princess  of,  271 
-\mber,  Malik,  320,  323,  344. 
345 

-\mir,  title  of  king  of  Ghazni,  36 
Anandpal  defeated  by  Mahmud, 
20 

Anhahvara,  26,  49,  54,  66 
Arabic  spoken  in  Sind,  12 
Arabs,  never  conquered  India, 
4;  trade  between  Persian  gulf 
and  India,  5;  pillaging  expe- 
dition to  Tana,  5;  invasion  of 
Sind  from  Mekran,  6-lo;  Dai- 
bul  besieged  by  Mohammad 


Kasim,  S;  conquest  of  Multan, 
q;  policy  of  conqueror,  10; 
imperfect  subjection  of  Sind, 
12;  foundation  of  Mansura, 
12;  Karmathian  ascendancy, 
13;  decay  of  .^rab  power  in 
the  province,  13;  the  Say)-ids, 
59,  161 

Arakan,  357,  3S0 
-A.rchers,  225 

-\riyaruk,  governor  of  Panjab, 

35.  36 

Arjumand  Banu,  Mumtaz-i-Ma- 
hall,  32S 

-\rmenians,  252,  302 
.\rniy,  no,  26S,  303,  315,  335, 
350,  377.  378,  402 
Arslan  Shah  of  Ghazni,  45 
Art,  29,  32,  40,  370;  Christian, 
in  India,  273,  274  [Pictures, 
Portraits] 

Artillerj-,  202,  207-209,  211-2I4, 
224,  227,  241,  335,  336,  351. 
37S  [Sieges] 

Asad-ad-din,  llS 
Asaf  Jah,  415,  416 
Asaf  Khan,  320,  322,  324,  32S, 
336.  345 
Asirgarh,  2S6 
-\sjudi,  30 

Askari,  son  of  Babar,  214,  222, 
226,  232 

Asoka  pillars,  144 

Atala  mosque  at  Jaunpur,  170, 

171 

Attok,  156 

Aurangzib,  252,  323,  344  ; gov- 
ernor of  Deccan,  346 ; cam- 
paigns in  .Afghanistan,  346, 
347 ; returns  to  Deccan,  347  ; 
conquers  Bidar,  34S  ; contest 
for  the  throne,  350-357  ; en- 
throned, 358  ; character  and 
policy,  359-366 ; court,  367- 
375  : government,  376-379 1 
wars,  3S0-3S2  ; Hindu  revolt, 
3S3 ; imposition  of  poll-tax, 
3S4 ; Rajput  rebellion,  3S5- 
3S7  ; Maratha  war,  393-407  ; 
portrait  in  old  age,  404 ; lone- 


INDEX 


437 


Aurangzib, — Contin  tied 

liness,  405  ; last  letters,  407, 
408  ; death,  409 
Avicenna,  30 

Aybek,  Kutb-ad-din,  first  Slave 
King  of  Delhi,  53,  54,  65, 
note  ; conquests  in  Hindustan, 
66  : rule,  68  ; buildings,  the 
Kutb  Minar,  67,  68  ; death,  70 
Azadpur  (Ikdala),  144 
A‘zam,  son  of  Aurangzib,  385, 
399,  406,  407,  41 1 

B 

Babar,  his  race,  193  ; Memoirs, 
193-196;  portrait,  195;  early 
career,  197  ; King  of  Kabul, 
ig8  ; raids  on  the  Indian  fron- 
tier, 199  ; invited  by  Ala-ad- 
din, 199;  invasion  of  1524, 
199:  final  invasion  of  1525, 
200 ; battle  of  Panipat,  201- 
203  ; distribution  of  treasure, 
203  ; a partial  conquest,  204  ; 
address  to  discontented  troops, 
205  ; war  with  Rajputs,  206- 
216  ; battle  of  Kanwaha,  2og, 
210 ; storming  of  Chanderi, 
210;  forcing  the  Ganges,  21 1, 
212  ; at  Agra,  212  ; battle  of 
the  Gogra,  213,  214  ; state  of 
the  empire,  215  ; Babar’s  de- 
scription of  Hindustan,  216; 
his  strength  and  swimming, 
217 ; death,  217 
Babarids,  197,  note 
Badakhshan,  200,  285,  346 
Badaun,  54,  171 

Badauni,  266-269,  272,  273,  279, 
280,  283 
Baghdad,  15 

Bahadur  Shah  (Bengal),  122 
Bahadur  Shah,  411-416  [Mu‘az- 
zam] 

Bahadur  Shah  of  Gujarat,  174, 
177,  178,  223-226 
Bahlol,  Lodi,  163,  172,  190 
Bahmanid  kings  of  Deccan,  140, 
178-185 


Bahraich,  150,  166,  169 
Bahram,  son  of  Altamish,’  76 
Bahrain  Shah  of  Ghazni,  45,  46 
Baihaki,  30,  36,  37,  44 
Bairam  Khan,  240-242,  244 
Bajaur,  199 
Baji  Ras,  415 

Bakhtiyar,  Mohammad,  54,  65, 
66,  68,  70,  84 
Baladhuri,  at,  8 
Balaji,  415 

Balban,  Slave  King  of  Delhi, 
77  ; early  career,  78  ; victories 
over  Mongols,  78,  79  ; exile, 
79  ; restoration,  80 ; Vezir, 
with  title  of  Ulugh  Khan,  80; 
administration,  80;  king,  81  ; 
stern  measures,  81,  82  ; policy, 
82  ; campaign  in  Bengal,  83- 
86 ; terrible  executions,  86  ; 
death,  87,  89 
Ball,  Dr.  V.,  204,  360 
Bandelkhand,  96 
Bankapur,  181,  183 
Baptism  of  Moghul  princes,  299 
Barani,  81,  93,  95,  note,  98,  loi- 
108,  112,  115,  125,  126 
Barbak  of  Bengal,  164 
Barha  Sayyids,  415 
Barid  Shahs,  185 
Baroda,  250 

Batshikan  (Idol-breaker),  title  of 
Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  21 
Batuta,  Ibn-,  119,  note,  122, 
note,  126,  127,  131 
Baz  Bahadur,  245,  254 
Bell,  Jahangir’s,  299 
Benares,  raid  upon,  41  ; con- 
quered by  Mohammad  Ghori, 

53,  66  : 213,  242,  349,  383 
Bengal,  conquered  by  Bakhtiyar, 

54,  65,  66,  68,  70;  72;  disaf- 
fected, 83,  84 ; subdued  by 
Balban,  85,  86  ; separate  king- 
dom, 87;  campaign  of  Firozin, 
140-141  ; opposes  Babar,  213  ; 
flotilla,  214  ; invaded  by  Hu- 
mayun,  228,  229  ; by  Akbar, 
239  ; 261,  322 

Bengal,  kings  of,  164 


438 


INDEX 


Herar,  179,  1S4,  185,  285,  286 
Hernier,  290,  328,  340,  357,  364, 
375.  377,  378 
Betel,  104 

Beveridge,  Mr.  H.,  204,  note 
Bhagwan  Das,  raja,  250,  251, 
258 

Bhakkar,  141 
Bhatnir,  156 
Bhira,  19,  199 

Biana,  163,  207  ; Kazi  of,  con- 
versation with  Ala  - ad  - din, 
105-108 
Bibi  Naila,  143 
Bibi  raji,  169,  171 
Bidar,  178,  180,  185,  348 
Bihar,  54,  147,  164,  i66,  172, 
190,  210,  212,  223,  227 
Bihari  Mai,  raja,  251 
Bihzad,  274 

Bijapur,  184,  185,  344,  345,  347, 
348,  389,  390,  392-396 
Bikanir,  258 
Bir  Afghan,  147 
Birbal,  raja,  273,  382,  285 
Biruni,  Al-  30 
Blochmann,  H.,  266,  279 
Bombay,  176,  365 
Brahmanabad,  9 
Brahmans,  8,  10,  17,  22,  26,  149, 

383 

Breastworks,  200 
‘ Bride  ’ catapult,  8 
Buddhist  kings,  22 
Bughra  Khan,  son  of  Balban, 
King  of  Bengal,  86,  87,  8g,  90 
Bukhara,  17 

Burhanpur,  179,  239,  296,  393, 
394 

Bussy,  420 

Buxar  (Baksar),  213,  230,  422 
C 

Calcutta,  382 

Caliphs,  7,  II,  12,  15,  16,  18,  72, 

137-138,  149 

Calthrops,  157 

Cambay,  5,  174,  225,  250,  295, 

317 


Camels,  8,  351 
Canals  of  Firoz,  144-146 
Careri,  Gemelli,  404,  405 
Caste,  as  applied  to  Islam,  62, 
63 

Castro,  F.  da,  336 
Catapults,  8 
Champanir,  225 
Chand  Bibi,  286 
Chand  Rai,  25 
Chandal  Bhor,  25 
Chandel  dynasty,  66 
Chanderi,  174,  190,  210 
Chandilla  dynasty,  22 
Charbagh,  212 
Charnock,  Job,  382 
Chaul,  naval  battle  off,  177 
Chaunsa,  230 
Chauth,  415,  418 
Chess,  living,  273 
Chhaju,  92 

Child-marriages,  252,  253 
Chinab,  156 
Chinese  art,  274 
Chingiz  Kaan,  invasion  of,  71 
Chin  Kulich  Khan,  415,  416 
Chitor,  conquered  by  Ala-ad- 
din, 1 13;  tower  of  victory,  173, 
174;  ranas,  206;  siege  by  Gu- 
jarat, 224 ; siege  by  Akbar, 
254-257;  statues  at  Delhi,  257 
Chittagong,  164,  381 
Chohan  horseman,  73 
Chunar,  213,  223,  227-229 
Coins  of  Mahmud,  18,  27; 

Ghiyas-ad-din,  48;  Moham- 
mad Ghori,  55;  Yildiz,  65; 
Iwaz,  72;  Altamish,  72,  73; 
Raziya,  77;  Balban,  73,  83; 
Ibrahim,  94;  Ala-ad-din,  95, 
137;  Mohammad  Taghlak, 
128,  134,  137;  Firoz,  150; 
Ghiyas  of  Malwa,  175;  Mah- 
mud of  Gujarat,  178;  Firoz 
Bahmanid,  182;  Sher  Shah, 
230;  Akbar,  243;  Jahangir, 
297;  Zodiacal  mohrs,  320; 
Nur-Jahan,  317,  320;  Shah- 
Jahan,  348:  Murad-Bakhsh, 

34q;  Aurangzib,  379,  400 


INDEX 


439 


Conjeveram,  i8o 
Corsi,  F.,  2gg,  3og 
Cos,  336 

Court  at  Ghazni,  36-40 
Cror  (Karor),  135,  356 
Croris,  267,  268 
Currency,  forced,  133-163 

D 

Dahir,  raja,  g ; his  daughters,  ii 
Daibul,  the  forerunner  of  Kara- 
chi, 8 ; besieged  by  Arabs  under 
Mohammad  Kasim,  8 ; taken 
by  Mohammad  Ghori,  4g 
Dailamis,  40 
Dalamau,  147,  166 
Dandanakan,  battle  of,  35 
Daniyal,  son  of  Akbar,  285 
Dar-el-Khilafa,  131 
Data  Shukoh,  323,  34g~357 
Darya  Khan,  163,  ig2 
Daulat  Khan,  i6i,  ig2,  igg, 
200 

Daulatabad,  made  capital  of 
India.  130-132  ; 3gg,  4og  [De- 
vagiri] 

Dawar-Bakhsh,  326 
Deccan,  conquests  of  Kafur,  113, 
1 14;  divided  into  four  pro- 
vinces, 130  ; under  Bahmanids, 
140,  178-185  ; under  Moghuls, 
240,  285,  286,  320,  321,  344- 
349.  387-407 

Delhi  conquered  by  Aybek,  53, 
66;  mosque  and  Kutb  Minar, 
68  ; besieged  by  rebels,  76,  78  ; 
infested  by  marauders,  81  ; 
coins,  83,  g5  ; attacked  by 
Mongols,  g6,  gy  ; revolt,  loi  ; 
threatened  by  Mongols,  log  ; 
new  suburbs,  log,  144;  mosque 
of  Ala-ad-din,  no;  described 
by  Ibn-Batuta,  131  ; sacked  by 
Timur,  158  ; occupied  by  Ba- 
bar,  203 ; building  of  New 
Delhi  by  Shah-Jahan,  340,  341, 
367-376 ; sacked  by  Nadir, 

417  . . 

Devagiri  (Deogir)  conquered  by 


Ala-ad-din,  g6  ; recovered  by 
Kafur,  113  ; tribute,  114,  118  ; 
130  [Daulatabad] 
Devarakanda,  183 
Dhakka,  381 
Dhar,  172 
Dholpur,  I go,  213 
Diamonds,  203,  204 
Dig  Ghazi,  212 
Dilawar  Khan  of  Malwa,  172 
Din-i-Ilahi,  280 
Dinar,  gold  coin,  ig 
Dinar,  Malik,  100 
Dipalpur,  log,  I3g,  156,  200 
Diu,  174,  175,  177  ; naval  battle, 
177  ; Portuguese  factory,  177  ; 
226 

Diwan-i-Khas,  270 
Doab  III,  146,  161,  163,  205, 
206 

Drinking  [Wine] 

Dryden’s  ‘ Aureng-Zebe,’  342 
Dutch,  2g4,  310,  315,  316,  331, 
381 

Duties  abolished  by  Akbar,  262 
Dvara-Samudra,  conquered  by 
Kafur,  114,  137 

E 

East  India  Company,  2g4,  2g5, 
305,  310,  316 

East,  King  of  the,  147,  166-172 
Egyptian  navy,  2g3 
Elephants,  g,  23,  155,  157,  248, 
249.  303-305,  335.  351-354. 
375.  376 

Elichpur,  g6,  174,  lyg 
Elliot  and  Dowson,  2go 
Elphinstone,  H.  M.,  50,  245, 

417 

Erskine,  W.,  175,  igo,  215 
Etawa,  160,  i6i,  171 

F 

Factories,  302,  331 
Faith,  the  Divine,  275-282 
Faizi,  26g,  272,  282,  286 
P'akirs,  313,  346 


440 


INDEX 


P'al  (omen),  150,  157 
Famine,  130 
Farabi,  A1-,  30 
Farghana,  197,  198 
Farrukhi,  30 
k'arrukhsiyar,  414,  415 
Fathabad,  144,  156 
Fath-Khan,  143,  150,  151,  154 
Fathpur-Sikri,  253,  265,  270, 
271-278,  281,  286 
Fiefs.  146,  147,  153,  191,  215, 
219.  377-379 
Firdausi,  30,  31 
Firengi  artillery,  202,  213,  214 
Firengi-bazar,  381 
Firoz,  Bahmanid,  182,  183 
Firoz  Shah  I,  73 
Firoz  Shah  II,  91-93 
Firoz  III,  138;  parentage,  139; 
character,  139,  140 ; cam- 

paigns in  Bengal,  140,  141  ; 
conquest  of  Thatta,  141-142, 
and  Nagarkot,  142  ; remission 
of  agricultural  loans,  143  ; 
passion  for  building,  143-146  ; 
canal-making,  144-146  ; his 
gardens,  146  ; revenue,  146  ; 
fiefs,  147  ; slaves,  147,  148 ; 
intemperance,  148  ; popular- 
ity, 149  ; death,  151  ; tomb, 
145,  158  ; posthumous  coins, 
161  ; pilgrimage,  169 
Firozabad,  suburb  of  Delhi,  144, 

154,  159 

Firozabad  (Panduah),  144,  164 
Firozi  Garden,  36 
Firoz-koh,  46,  48,  49 
Flags,  8,  36,  42 
Food,  price  of,  in 
‘ Foreign  amirs,’  136,  178 
Forged  coinage,  135 
Forty  Slaves,  the,  76,  82 
Foster,  W.  II.,  307 
Fiihrer,  A,,  169,  note 

G 

Gakkars,  20,  49,  54,  55,  162 

Galgala,  404 

Gama,  Vasco  da,  176 


Gandhara  (Sahi)  dynasty,  22, 

23 

Ganges,  bridged  by  Babar,  210, 
212  ; battle  of  the,  231,  232 
Gardens,  36,  146 
Gates,  deodar,  at  Agra,  27 
Gaur  [Lakhnauti],  164,  165,  167, 
228 

Ghats,  388,  389 
Ghazi  (Victor),  21 
Ghazi-ad-din,  419,  420 
Ghazipur,  206 

Ghaznawids,  44  [Ghazni,  Kings 
of] 

Ghazni,  16,  note,  21,  27,  29-32, 
36-40,  45-48,  200,  416 
Ghazni,  kings  of,  16-49 
Ghilzais,  416 

Ghiyas-ad-din  ibn  Sam,  48 
Ghiyas  of  Gujarat,  175 
Ghor,  dynasty  of,  46-56,  227 
Ghuzz  Turkmans,  34,  48 
Gogra,  battle  of  the,  213,  214 
Golkonda,  185,  347,  348,  396- 
400 

Govind,  Guru,  414 
Grenades,  351 

Gujarat,  26,  147,  147,  219,  223- 
226,  239,  250,  296,  332 
Gujarat,  kings  of,  174-178, 

179. 

Gumti,  166 

Gun-carriages,  200,  207,  208 
Gunpowder,  336 
Gupta  dynasty,  22 
Gwaliar,  26,  54,  66,  70,  160,  171, 
239,  242 

H 

Haidar,  Mirza,  232 
Hajjaj,  A1-,  7,  8,  ii 
Hajji,  Khwaja,  113 
Hakim,  239,  255 
Hansi,  43,  53,  66,  78 
Harim,  142,  251,  252,  304 
Haripala  Deva,  118 
Hasan  Gangu,  140,  178,  179 
Hasan  Karlagh  in  Sind,  72, 
note 


INDEX 


441 


Ilasanak,  3g 
Haukal,  Ibn-,  12 
Hawkins,  William,  295-305 
Hazarclinari  [Kafiir] 

Hijra  chronology,  discontinued; 

restored,  299 
Himu,  236,  238,  240,  241 
Hindal,  222,  229,  232 
Hindu  Kings,  17,  19,  20,  22 
Hindus,  relations  of,  with  Mus- 
lims, 41,  42,  49,  50,  68,  79,  81, 
104-106,  1 17,  143,  149,  153, 
162,  269,  328,  383-387 
Hindustani  (Urdu),  300 
Hisar  Firoza,  144 
Holden,  Dr.,  283 
Holkar,  416,  418,  421 
Horses,  imported,  114,  note 
Howitzer,  21 1 
Hugh,  328,  381,  382 
Humayun,  in  Babar’s  cam- 
paigns, 200,  203  ; in  Badakh- 
•shan,  218  ; character,  218,  219; 
state  of  his  heritage,  219;  jeal- 
ousy of  his  brothers,  220,  221  ; 
vacillating  policy,  222  ; defeat 
of  Afghans  in  Bihar,  223  ; 
chivalry  at  Chitor,  224  ; con- 
quest of  Malwa  and  Gujarat, 
225  ; loss  of  both,  226  ; con- 
quest of  Chunar,  227;  invasion 
of  Bengal,  228  ; cut  off  by  Slier 
Shah,  22g  ; attempt  to  return 
and  rout  at  Chaunsa,  230, 
231  ; battle  of  the  Ganges, 
231  : e.xile,  232;  at  Kabul,  232; 
return  to  India,  victory  at  Sir- 
hind,  236  ; death,  237  ; tomb, 
235,  237 

Humayun,  son  of  Mohammad, 

154’ 

Humayun,  Bahmanid,  184,  1S5 
Hunter,  Sir  W.  W.,  26,  262, 

413 

Hunting,  141 
Hurmuz,  5 

Husain,  Egyptian  admiral,  176 
Husain  Jahan-soz,  47,  48 
Husain  of  Jaunpur,  171,  190 
Hushang  of  Malwa,  172,  175 


I 

Ibadat-Khana,  270 
Ibn-Batuta  [Batuta] 

Ibrahim,  son  of  Firoz  II,  94 
Ibrahim  of  Ghazni,  45 
Ibrahim,  Lodi,  191,  192,  201, 
202 

Ibrahim  Shah,  of  Jaunpur,  169- 

171. 

Ibrahim  Sur,  236 
Idar,  175 

Idols,  10,  25,  26,  1 14,  1 19,  149 
Ikbal  Khan,  157,  158,  160,  167 
Ikdala,  140,  144 
Ilahi  years,  282 
Ilak  Khan,  33 
Iltutmish  [Altamish] 

Imad  Shahs,  184,  185 
Indore,  179 

Indus,  8,  9,  12,  22,  28,  71,  72, 
77,78,141,156 

Infallibility,  doctrine  of  imperial, 
278-280 

‘ Inglis  Khan,’  302 
Islam,  brotherhood  of,  62,  63 
Islam  Shah,  236 
Iwaz,  72,  note 

J 

Jagir,  78,  378  _ 

Jahan-Ara,  Princess  Begum,  342, 
355 

Jahandar,  414 

Jahangir  (Salim),  246,  273,  297- 

325.  327 

Jahanpanah,  131,  159 
Janan-soz,  47,  48 
Jai  Mai,  of  Chitor,  254,  256, 
257 

Jaipal,  raja  of  Panjab,  defeated 
by  .Sabuktagin,  17;  by  Mah- 
mud, 19 
Jaipur,  251 
Jai  Singh,  349,  354 
Jajnagar,  85,  141,  164,  166 
Jalal  Khan,  228 
Jalal  Shah  of  Jaunpur,  192 
Jalal-ad-din  Khalji  [Firoz  II] 


442 


INDEX 


Jalal-ad-din,  Khwarizm  Shah, 

71 

Jalandhar,  162 
Jam  of  Sind,  141 
James  1,  306,  312 
Jammu,  160 

Jannatabad  (Lakhnauti),  164 
Jarrett,  Col.  H.  S.,  284 
Jasrath,  162 

Jaswant  Singh,  350,  354 
Jats,  10,  27,  28,  42,  406 
Jauhar  rite,  257 
Jauna  [Mohammad  Taghlak] 
Jaunpur  founded,  144  ; 147,166, 
168  ; fort,  168  ; 206,  212,  213, 
22Q,  239,  242 

Jaunpur,  Sharki,  kings  of,  166- 
172 

Jesuits,  273,  299,  300,  309,  328, 

336.  370 

Jesus  quoted  by  Akbar,  286 
Jewels,  19,  21,  26,  38,  I14,  313, 
374.  375 
Jhalor,  175 
Jihad,  206,  224 
Jital,  150,  note 

Jizya  (poll-tax),  215,  252,  384, 

385 

Jodhpur,  385  [Marwar] 

Jumla,  Mir,  347,  348,  380 
Junagarh,  250 
Junair,  184 
Jungles  cleared,  81 

K 

Kabul,  17,  43,  156,  162,  192, 
193,  198-200,  203,  205,  212, 
217,  220,  232,  236,  239,  240, 
285,  323.  349.  416 

Kachh,  141 

Kafur,  Malik,  Hazardinari,  cam- 
paigns in  Deccan,  113,  114  ; 
regency,  116;  mosque,  182 
Kai-Kubad,  89,  90 
Kakatiya  dynasty,  113 
Kalachuri  dynasty,  22 
Kalhat,  5 
Kaliani,  348 

Kalinjar,  26,  54,  66,  79,  223,  257 


Kalpi,  54,  170,  174 
Kam-Bakhsh,  406,  408,  411 
Kampila,  163 
Kampila,  raja  of,  127 
Kamran,  220,  223,  229,  232,  233 
Kamrup,  164 

Kanauj,  22,  24,  25,  53,  154,  160, 
i66,  210,  226,  229,  231 
Kandahar,  232,  240,  285,  320, 
321,  346,  403,  416,  418 
Kandapali,  184 
Kandavid,  184 
Kangra  (Nagarkot),  21 
Kansuh  el-Ghuri,  176 
Kanwaha,  battle  of,  209,  210, 
211 

Karachi,  8 

Karauna,  Caraona,  Karawina, 
122,  note 

Karman,  in  Afghanistan,  42 
Karmathians  in  Sind,  13,  19,  49 
Karra,  96,  147,  166 
Kashmir,  24,  42,  240,  285,  324, 

341 

Kasim  Khan,  350  [Mohammad 
Kasim] 

Katehr  (Rohilkhand),  i6i 
Kathiawar,  175,  250 
Kavalavira,  169 

Keene,  H.  G.,  233,  262,  279, 
338,  341 

Kenchens,  375 
Khafi  Khan,  245,  365,  392 
Khaibar  pass,  19 
Khaldiran,  battle,  201,  note 
Khalisa  lands,  iii,  267 
Khaljis,  84,  91;  kings  of  Delhi, 
91-1 19  ; 164,  174 
Khandesh,  176,  179,  239,  285, 
286,  393 

Khan-i-Jahan,  142,  150  ; 345 
Khizr  Khan,  161,  162,  169 
Khubilai  Khan,  133 
Khurasan,  17,  18,  33-35,  43,  65 
Khurram  (Shah-Jahan),  320,  321, 

341 

Khusru,  amir,  82,  121 
Khusru  Khan,  1 17- 120 
Khusru  Malik,  King  of  Panjab, 
49 


INDEX 


443 


Khusru  Shah  of  Ghazni,  47 
Khusru,  son  of  Jahangir,  321 
Khwabgah,  272 
Khwaja,  38 
Khwaja-i-Jahan,  166 
Khwaja  Kalan,  200 
Khwarizm,  54,  66,  71,  72,  note 
Kili,  battle  of,  97 
Kilughari  (Shahr-i-Nau),  go, 
109 

Kingship,  Indian  ideas  on,  60-62 
Kiri,  fort,  44 
Koh-i-nur,  204,  348 
Koil  (Aligarh),  53,  66,  147,  162 
Konkan,  388,  389 
Koran,  80,  208,  360 
Kubacha,  governor  of  Sind,  70- 
72 

Kulbarga,i30, 179,  183-185,  348, 

397 

Kumbho,  rana  of  Chitor,  174 
Kunbhalmir,  258 
Kiiraish  in  Sind,  12 
Kurayyat,  5 
Kutaiba,  7 

Kutb-ad-din  [Aybek] 
Kutb-ad-din  Mubarak  Shah, 
116-118 

Kutb  Miliar,  67  (cut),  68,  131, 
144 

Kutb  Shahs,  185,  3g7[Golkonda] 
K'ltlugh  Khwaja,  g6 

L 

Laager,  200,  201,  note,  207 
Lac  (lakh)  135,  356 
Laghman,  17 

Lahore,  26,  40,  46,  47,  54,  71, 
77,  160,  199,  200,  338,  357 
Lakhnauti  (Gaur,  Jannatabad), 
54,  68,  77,  85,  86,  122,  164 
Lai  Darwaza  (Ruby  Gate)  at 
Jaunpur,  171 

Land-assessment,  261-264,  266- 
268 

Land-tax,  261 
Land  tenure,  loi,  102 
Laval,  Pyrard  de,  294 
Levees,  334 


Linga  of  Somnath,  26,  note 

Lion  combats,  304 

Loans,  agricultural,  133,  143 

Lodis,  161,  163 

Lohanis,  192,  227 

I.ucknow,  battle  of,  223,  224, 

239 

M 

Ma'bar,  114;  note 
Magadha,  22 

Mahabat  Khan,  323,  324,  345 
Maham  Anaga,  242,  244,  245 
Maharashtra,  96 
Mahindri,  249 

Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  Governor  of 
Khurasan,  17;  King  of  Ghazni, 
17:  his  zeal  for  Islam,  18;  in- 
vestiture by  caliph,  18;  the 
Holy  War,  18;  his  sixteen 
campaigns,  18-28;  defeat  and 
death  of  Jaipal,  19;  raids  upon 
Hhira  and  Multan,  19,  49: 
battle  of  the  Khaibar,  20; 
conquest  of  Kangra,  21;  the 
Idol-breaker,  21;  raids  in  Hin- 
dustan, 22;  conquest  of 
Mathura,  24,  and  Kanauj,  25; 
battle  of  the  Rahib,  25:  con- 
quest of  Somnath,  26,  27; 
engagement  with  Jats,  27,  28; 
death  of  Mahmud,  28;  raids 
not  conquests,  28;  his  policy, 
29;  support  of  art  and  letters, 
29,  30;  poets  and  historians  at 
his  court,  30;  Firdausi,  30,  31; 
endowment  of  the  university 
of  Ghazni,  31;  adornment  of 
the  capital,  32;  Mahmud’s 
empire  in  Persia,  32;  wars  with 
the  Turks,  33;  a conqueror, 
but  not  an  organizer  or  origin- 
ator, 33;  40,  46,  47 
Mahmud  I of  Gujarat,  176 
Mahmud  II,  Bahmanid,  184,  185 
Mahmud  Gawan,  184 
Mahmud  of  Jaunpur,  171 
Mahmud  Lodi,  212,  213,  223, 
227 


444 


IXDEX 


Mahmud  of  Malwa,  174 
Mahmud,  son  of  Mohammad, 
154.  157.  158.  160,  161,  l6g 
Mahdba,  22 
Mahur,  lyg 

Maimandi,  Ahmad  Hasan,  Vezir, 
36,  38-40,  42 

Makbul  Khan-i-Jahan,  142,  143, 

149,  150 

Makhdum-al-Mulk,  275,  2S2 
Mai  Bhatti,  raja,  139 
Malabar  coast,  trade  with  Per- 
sian Gulf,  5;  campaigns  on, 

1 14 

Malik  Amber  [Amber] 

Malik  Ghazi  Shahna,  144 
l\Ialik-i-Maidan,  21 1 
Malika-i-Jahan,  93 
Malwa,  72,  79,  219,  223-226, 

239.  245 

Malwa,  kings  of,  169,  172-174, 
175.  176,  178 

Mamluks  of  Egypt,  176 
Man,  150 
Man  Singh,  258 
Mandelslo,  Albert,  329-336 
Mangalore,  180 
Manghir,  230 
Mangu  Kaan,  78 
Mankot,  240,  242 
Manrique,  F.,  336,  338 
Mansabdars,  251,  267,  26S,  303, 
315.  334,  377-379.  4i2 
Mansura,  in  Sind,  12 
Marathas,  113,  344,  3SS-407, 
413,  416-421 
Marco  Polo,  122 
Markham,  Sir  Clements,  303 
Marriage  portions,  149,  318 
Marwar,  53,  327,  385 
Mas'ud,  son  of  Mahmud  of 
Ghazni,  35-38,  his  court,  36; 
drinking  bouts,  37;  character, 
39,  40;  administration  of  Pan- 
jab, 40-42;  storming  of  Hansi, 
43;  defeated  by  Seljuks,  35, 
44;  flight  and  death,  44 
Mas'ud,  grandson  of  Altamish, 
76,  79 

Mas'ud,  Salar,  150,  168 


Mas'udi,  A1-,  12 
Masulipatan,  184 
Matchlocks,  200,  209-335,  351 
Mathura,  24,  383 
Maudud  of  Ghazni,  36 
Medini  Rao,  174,  210 
Meds,  10 

Mekka,  232,  233,  244 
Mekran,  6,  8 
Merv,  35,  44 
Mewar,  385 
Mewat,  161,  163 
Middleton,  Sir  11. , 303 
Millennium,  Islamic,  283 
Mirat,  66,  159 
jSIirzas’  revolt,  249,  250 
Moghul,  Mughal,  Mongol,  197 
Mohammad  I,  Bahmanid,  180, 
181 

Mohammad  II,  Bahmanid,  184 
Mohammad,  son  of  Balban,  S3, 

85,  87 

Mohammad,  son  of  Firoz,  150, 

151.  154 

Mohammad  Ghori  (Mu'izz-ad- 
din  ibn  Sam)  at  Ghazni,  48  ; 
conquers  Sind  and  Panjab,  49  ; 
battles  with  Rajputs  at  Xarain, 
51,  53  ; conquest  of  most  of 
Hindustan,  53,  54 ; invasion 
of  Khwarizm,  54;  death,  55; 
his  slaves,  59,  64,  65 
Mohammad  Hadi,  318 
Mohammad  Kasim  invades  Sind, 

7 ; besieges  and  storms  Daibul, 

8 ; defeats  Hindus  at  Rawar 
and  Brahmanabad,  9 ; takes 
Multan,  9 ; his  generous  policy, 
10;  execution,  il 

Mohammad  of  Malwa,  174 
Mohammad  Shah,  414-418 
Mohammad  Sultan,  222,  226 
Mohammad  ibn  Taghlak,  prince 
Jauna  Ulugh  Khan,  121  ; 
early  campaigns  in  Deccan, 
121,  122;  character  and  cul- 
ture, 124,  125  ; cruelty,  126, 
127  ; prodigality,  128  ; coin, 
12S  ; innovations,  129;  taxa- 
tion, 129  ; oppression,  129  ; 


INDEX 


445 


Mohammad — Continued 

transfers  capital,  130 ; palace 
at  Delhi,  131  ; forced  cur- 
rency, 133-136  ; insurrections, 
136-138  ; death,  138  ; cam- 
paigns in  Deccan,  179 
Mohammad  Zaman,  222,  223 
Mongols,  invasions  of,  71,  77- 
81,  Q2,  96-98,  109,  112,  119; 
aspect  of,  83  ; settled  at  Delhi, 
97,  98 

Mosque,  first  in  India,  8 ; at 
Ghanzi,  3t,  32,  47  ; Golden,  at 
Gaur,  165  ; Atala,  etc,,  at 
Jaunpur,  170,  171  ; at  Ma'bar, 
1 14,  note 

Mu'azzam,  son  of  Aurangzib, 
385.  393,  39f>,  405,  406,  41 1- 

414 

Mubarak  Shah,  Kutb-ad-din, 
116-118 

Mubarak  .Shah,  Sayyid,  163,  169 
INIudkal,  180-183 
Mughalpur,  97,  98,  II2 
Mu‘izz-ad-din  ibn  Sam  [Moham- 
mad Ghori] 

Mujahid,  Bahmanid,  114,  181, 
182 

Mujtahid,  279 

Multan,  9,  10,  13,  19,  26,  28,  49, 
54,  55,  70,  102,  119,  156,  161, 
349 

Mumtaz-i-Mahall,  328,  338,  342 
Murad,  son  of  Akbar,  273,  285 
Murad  Bakhsh,  349-356 
Muskets  [Matchlocks] 

Muslims,  ‘ new,’  97,  98 
Mustafa,  Ottoman  gunner,  202, 
207,  213,  214 
Muzaffar  Kahn,  261 
Mysore,  180 

N 

Nadir  Shah,  416-418 
Nagarkot,  21,  142,  154,  160 
Najib-ad-daula,  419-421 
Naphtha  arrows,  9,  28  ; fires, 
335 

Narain,  two  battles  of,  51-53 


Nazbada,  battle  of  the,  350 
Nasir-ad-din,  son  of  Altamish, 
77,  80,  81 

Nasir-ad-din  (Bengal),  122 
Nasrat  Shah,  son  of  Path  Khan, 
154,  160 
Nautch,  375 
Navvab-vezir,  418-422 
Niyalt.agin,  governor  of  Pan  jab, 
40-42 

Nizam  Sbahs,  1S4,  185,  344,  345 
Nizam  of  Ilaidarabad,  415 
Nizam-ad-din,  vezir,  90,  91 
Nizam-ad-din,  251 
Nizam- al-mulk,  33 
Nizami,  Hasan,  68 
Nur-Jahan  (Nur-Mahall),  298, 
302,  317-326 

O 

Oman,  C,,  201 
Oman,  trade  of,  5 
Omar,  Shihab-ad-din,  116 
Omayyad  caliphs,  7,  ii,  12,  15 
Omrahs,  377  [Mansabdars] 
Opium,  217,  219,  226,  305 
Orisa,  164,  172,  180,  184,  239 
Ottoman  artillery,  241,  250 
Oudh,  147,  166,  418,  420 
Ovington,  365 
Oxenden,  Sir  George,  390 

P 

Pachisi  court,  272 
Padmavati,  14 1 

Painting,  149,  273-275,  299,  312, 

336,  371.  372 

Pala  dynasty,  22 

Panduah,  144,  164 

Panipat,  Akbar’s  victory  at,  241  ; 

Marathas  routed  at,  420-422 
Panipat,  battle,  1526,  200-203 
Panipat,  plain  of,  51,  156 
Panjab,  35,  40-43,  46,  47,  71, 
236,  239,  414 
Pantheists,  269,  279,  282 
Parganas,  266 
Parviz,  322,  345 


446 


INDEX 


Parwanis,  1 17-1 20 
Patans,  296 
Patiali,  163 
Patna,  315 

Persia,  232,  251,  416-421  ; Per- 
sian Gulf  trade,  5 ; Persian 
influence  on  Arabs,  15,  16 ; 
Persian  language,  264-266,  300 
Peshawar,  ig,  49 
Peshwas,  41 5-421 
Pictures  [Painting] 

Pilaji  Gaikwar,4l6 

Pilgrims’  tax  abolished,  252 

Pineiro,  Padre,  296 

Pir  Mohammad,  156,  157 

Pirates,  3S0-382 

Poll-tax  (jizya),  10,  252,  384,  385 

Polo,  40,  70 

Pontoon,  212 

Poona,  389,  390 

Portraits  [Painting] 

Portuguese,  176-178,  226,  250, 
2go,  292-296,  300,  302,  308, 
310,  328,  357,  380-382 
Presents,  296,  300,  302,  334 
Prices,  150,  note 
Prithwi  Raja,  50,  52,  53 
Pyramids  of  heads,  112,  249 
Pyrard  de  Laval,  294 

Q 

Queens,  Muslim,  73-76 
R 

Rahib,  battle  of  the,  25 
Raichur  Doab,  180,  182 
Rajamandari,  184 
Rajputs,  20,  50-53,  174,  206,  207, 
209,  210,  2Tg,  223,  224,  236, 
239,  241,  251,  253-258,  323, 

350-354.  3S5-3S7 

Ramachandra,  i6g 
Rama  Deva,  113,  114,  118 
Ramaganga  River,  25 
Ramessar,  114,  note 
Ramgir,  179 
Ram  Singh,  353 

Rantambhor,  66,  79,  100,  113, 

174,  257 


Rantelas,  353 
Ratagarh,  168 
Rathor  dynasty,  53  ; 385 
Rawar,  9 

Raziya,  Queen,  73-76 
Rents,  262-264 
Revenue,  215,  262,  303,  334 
Rihan,  renegade  Hindu  eunuch, 
79 

Rockets,  351 

Roe,  Sir  Thomas,  305-316,  321, 
322,  327 

Rohillas,  418-421 
Rohtak,  i6l 
Rohtas,  227-229 
Rukayya,  251 

Rumi  Khan,  Ottoman  gunner, 
224,  227 

Rumi  laager,  183 
Rupar,  162 
Rupee,  315,  356 

S 

Sabat  (covered  way),  255 
Sabuktagin,  King  of  Ghazni,  17 
Sa‘d-Allah,  328,  329 
Sa’di,  31,  74 
Safdar  Jang,  418-422 
Sahi  dynasty  of  Gandhara,  22, 
23 

Sahu,  413 

Salim  Chishti,  271 

Salim  (Jahangir),  271,  286,  288 

Salima,  251 

Salimgarh,  356 

Salsette,  176 

Samana,  85,  rog,  154 

Samanid  Kingdom,  16,  17,  30 

Samarkand,  16,  156,  160,  198 

Sambhaji,  393,  400,  401 

Sambhal,  163,  171,  206 

Samma  Jam,  141 

Samugarh,  battle,  351-354 

Sandila,  147,  166 

Sandip,  381 

Sanga,  rana  of  Chitor,  206,  210 
Sanjar,  Seljuk,  Sultan,  45 
Sanskrit  studied  by  Muslims,  30, 
278 


INDEX 


447 


Sapera,  5 

Sappers,  255,  256  [Sieges] 
Sarwar,  Khwaja-i-Jahan,  166, 
169 

Satgaon,  164 
Satnamis,  384 
Satpura  mountains,  174 
Sattara,  403 

Sayyid  dynasty,  161,  169,  190 
Sayyids,  59.  4i5 
Seljuks,  34,  43-45,  64 
Sewell,  R.,  183,  note 
Shah-Alam,  420,  422 
Shah-Jahan,  308,  320,  321-329  ; 
court,  334;  builds  Taj  at  Agra, 
and  founds  New  Delhi,  338- 
341  ; effeminate  old  age,  342  ; 
Deccan  wars,  345  ; deposed  by 
Aurangzib,  355  ; captivity  and 
death,  355 

Shahjahanabad  (New  Delhi), 

340,  341,  367-376 

Shahji  Ilhosla,  389 
Shah-Nama,  30,  31,  39 
Shahr-i-nau  (Kilughari),  90,  109 
Shahriyar,  322,  324 
Shaitanpur,  281 

Shark!  maliks  of  Jaunpur,  116- 
172 

Sharwa,  25 
Shayista  Khan,  381 
Sher  Khan,  of  f’anjab,  80,  82 
Sher  Khan  (Shah),  213,  223,  226, 
227-236,  261.  262 
Shibboleth,  154 
Shihab-ad-din,  116 
Shiraz,  Kazi,  40,  41 
Shuja*  Shah,  349,  357,  358 
Shuja‘-ad-daula,  420-422 
Sialkot,  49 
Siege  machines,  8 
Sieges  ; Daibul,  8;  Somnath,  27; 
Hansi,  43  ; Chitor,  255-257  ; 
Bijapur,  396  ; Golkonda,  397- 
399 

Sikandar  (Ilumayiin),  154 
Sikandar  Khan,  147 
Sikandar,  Lodi,  190 
Sikandar  Sur,  236,  240 
Sikandra,  287 


Sikhs,  406,  414 

Sind,  conquered  by  Arabs,  6-13  ; 
by  Mohammad  Ghori,  49  ; Ku- 
bacha,  70-72 ; Salal-ad-din, 
71,  72;  Mohammad  Taghlak 
invades,  138-139,  and  Firoz, 
141,  142  ; 213 
Sindhia,  416,  418,  421 
Sikri,  207,  271 
Sipahsalar  (marshal),  66 
Sipihr  Shukoh,  352 
Sir,  150,  note 
Siraf,  5 

Sirliind,  52,  162 ; battle,  236, 
239 

Siri,  109,  114,  131,  157 
Sirsuti,  53,  156 
Sistan,  17 
Siva,  bull  of,  73 
Sivaji,  389-393 
Siwalik  hills,  160 
Slave  dynasties,  64,  65 
Slave  Kings  of  Delhi,  53,  66- 
88 

Slaves,  19,  25,  147,  148,  151- 
154  ; price  of,  112,  117 
Slings,  Stone-,  8 
Smith,  E,  W.,  169,  274 
Solankhpal,  raja,  66 
Solar  year,  282,  299 
Soldiers,  pay  of,  no  [,\rmy] 
Somnath,  temple  and  linga, 
26 

Sonargaon,  164 

Sovereignty,  Indian  ideas  on, 
60-62 

Spies,  102-104 
Statues,  299,  312  [Art] 

Stephens,  Morse,  177,  note 
Sufiism,  269 

Sultanpur  (VVarangal),  137 
Sumras  of  Thatta,  138 
Sun-worship,  280,  282 
Sur,  chiefs  of,  46  [Ghor], 
227 

Surat,  174,  249,  250,  299,  302, 
307-310,  317,  330,  331,  349, 
365,  390,  392 
Sutanati,  382 
Suttee,  252 


448 


INDEX 


T 

Tabakat-i-Akbari,  224,  251,  257 
Taghlak,  Ghazi  Malik,  113,  119- 

122 

Taghlak  II,  151 

Taghlakabad,  13 1,  136  ; fort, 

123 

Taghlakpur  (Tirhuti),  137 
Tahmasp,  Shah,  232 
Taj-al-mulk,  162 
Taj-Mahall,  328,  338 
Tanjore,  392,  400 
Tardi  Beg,  241 

Taria,  early  Arab  raid  upon,  5 
Tariff  of  Ala-ad-din,  iii,  117 
Tarikh-i-Alfi,  254,  257,  283 
Tarikh-i-Sher-Shahi,  236 
Tatar  Khan,  148 
Tavernier,  329,  360 
Taxation,  132,  143,  149,  261, 

267,  315 

Telingana,  subdued  b)'  Kafur, 
1 13;  tributary  to  Delhi,  130; 
180,  184 

Temples,  10,  24,  26,  68 
Terry,  Rev.  E.,  317 
Thanesar,  23,  248 
Thatta,  138,  141,  142 
Thoipas,  E.,  77,  133,  136,  163 
Throne,  Peacock,  417 
Thugs,  92 

Tilak,  Hindu  general,  41,  42 
Tiles,  gilt,  131 

Timur  (Tamerlane)  in  India,  154- 
160 

Timur’s  successors,  197 
Tipara,  164 
Tirhut,  166,  190 
Tobacco,  283,  2gS 
Todar  Mai,  258,  260-267. 
Token  currency,  133-136 
Tomara  dynasty,  22,  24,  53 
Tombs,  pilgrimage  to,  270,  271 
Tories  or  Highwaymen,  332 
Torture,  107,  iiS,  126,  127,  267 
Townsend,  Mr.  Meredith,  62, 
note  ' 

Trade,  174-176 
Treasure,  203,  303,  333 


Tripods,  207,  208 
Tughril  Bey,  35 

Tughril,  rebel  in  Bengal,  84-87 
Tulughma  manoeuvre,  201,  209 
Turkmans,  34,  240 
Turks,  the  real  ^Iuslim  conquer- 
ors of  India,  14  ; their  migra- 
tions, 14-16 ; Turkish  lan- 
guage, 296,  300 

U 

Uchh,  siege  of,  79 
Udaipur,  rana  of,  254,  258,  385, 
386 

Udaipuri  Bai,  409,  409 
Udai  Singh,  ranaof  Mewar,  254, 
258 

Ujjayn,  72,  172 
Ulugh  Khan  [Balban] 

Unsuri,  30 
Urdu,  266 

Ustad  Ali,  gunner,  202,  207,  209, 
2 1 2-2 14 
Utbi,  30 

Uzbegs,  198,  207,  24S,  346,  351 
V 

Valle,  Pietro  della,  317,  318, 
321 

Vedanta  philosophy,  278 
Verroneo  Geronimo,  338 
Vezir,  141-143,  162,  184 
Vezirs,  33,  36-40,  80,  90,  91 
Vijayanagar,  king  of,  179-182 
Vikramajit,  raja,  203,  240 
Virgin,  Blessed,  representation 
of,  273,  304 

W 

Wagons,  laager  of,  200,  201, 
note 

Warangal,  subdued  by  Kafur, 
113;  tribute,  114,  137;  179, 
180 

Wassaf,  1 14,  note;  122,  note 
Waste  lands  reclaimed,  146 
Water-rate,  146 


INDEX 


449 


Weighing  the  Moghul,  282,  313, 

314,  341,  375 

Wine,  36,  37,  40,  43  ; repression 
of  drinking,  103,  107  ; 116, 

148,  208,  281,  285,  297,  298, 

305,  313 

Y 

Yadava  dynasty,  113 
Yaklakhi,  118 


Yildiz,  65,  70,  71 
Yogis,  278,  280 

Z 

Zafar,  son  of  Firoz,  154 
Zafar  Khan  of  Gujarat,  175 
Zafarabad  (Ratagarh),  147,  166, 
168 

Zamindars,  215 
Zodiacal  mohrs,  319,  320 


The  Story  of  the  Nations. 


In  the  story  form  the  current  of  each  National  life 
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THE  STORY  OF  THE  NATIONS 


GREECE.  Prof.  Jas.  A.  Harrison. 
ROME.  Arthur  Gilman. 

THE  JEWS.  Prof.  James  K.  Hos- 
mer. 

CHALDEA.  Z.  A.  Ragozin. 
GERMANY.  S.  Baring-Gould. 
NORWAY.  Hjalmar  H.  Boyesen. 
SPAIN.  Rev.  E.  E.  and  Susan 
Hale. 

HUNGARY.  Prof.  A.  Vambery. 
CARTHAGE.  Prof.  Alfred  J. 
Church. 

THE  SARACENS.  Arthur  Gil- 
man. 

THE  .MOORS  IN  SPAIN.  Stanley 
Lane-Poole. 

THE  NOR.MANS.  Sarah  Ome 
Jewett. 

PERSL\.  S.  G.  W.  Benjamin. 
ANCIENT  EGYPT.  Prof.  Geo. 
Rawlinson. 

ALEXA.NDER'S  EMPIRE.  Prof. 

J.  P.  Mahaffy. 

ASSYRIA.  Z.  A.  Ragozin. 

THE  GOTHS.  Henry  Bradley. 
IRELAND.  Hon.  Emily  Lawless. 
TURKEY.  Stanley  Lane-Poole. 
MEDIA,  BABYLON,  AND  PER-  I 
SIA.  Z.  A.  Ragozin. 
MEDIEVAL  FRANCE.  Prof.Gus-  | 
tave  Masson. 

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PHCENICIA.  George  Rawlinson. 
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EARLY  BRIT.A.IN.  Prof.  Alfred 
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HEROES  OF  THE  NATIONS 


NELSON.  By  W.  Clark  RusseU. 
GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS.  By  C. 
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PERICLES.  By  Evelyn  Abbott. 
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CHARLEMAGNE.  By  H.  W.  C. 
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SAINT  LOUIS  (Louis  IX.  of 
France).  By  Frederick  Perry. 

LORD  CHATHAM.  By  Walford 
Davis  Green. 

OWEN  GLYNDWR.  By  Arthur 
G.  Bradley.  $1.35  net. 

HENRY  V.  By  Charles  L.  Kings- 
ford.  Si  .35  net. 

EDWARD  I.  By  Edward  Jenks. 
Si. 35  net. 

AUGUSTUS  CiESAR.  By  J.  B. 
Firth.  $1.35. 


Other  volumes  in  preparation  are: 


MOLTKE.  By  Spencer  Wilkinson. 
JUDAS  MACCAB.^;US.  By  Israel 
Abrahams. 

SOBIESKI.  By  F.  A.  Pollard. 
ALFRED  THE  TRUTHTELLER. 

By  Frederick  Perry. 
FREDERICK  II.  By  A.  L.  Smith. 


MARLBOROUGH.  By  C.  W.  C. 
Oman. 

RICHARDTHELION-HEARTED. 
By  T.  A.  Archer. 

WILLIAM  THE  SILENT.  By 
Ruth  Putnam. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS,  Publishers, 
New  York. 


London 


DATE  DUE 

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GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

